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Shiloh Hendrix identified herself as the woman in the widely circulated video, which was filmed last week at a park in Rochester, Minnesota. In a GiveSendGo fundraising campaign, she said she feared retaliation and sought public support. Hundreds of donors have contributed, helping her raise over half of her $1 million goal.
"I am so grateful to all of you who have donated to my family. I never would have imagined that we would be supported to such an extreme," she wrote in the campaign post. "It still feel as if it's too good to be true, and it's all going to disappear. It's such a strange feeling to be living in a blissful dream and a nightmare simultaneously."
GiveSendGo says it is a Christian crowdfunding site.
Hendrix claims her Social Security number, home address, and phone number were leaked online after the video, which shows her repeatedly using the N-word, went viral.
Sharmake Omar, who filmed the video, told NBC News he saw Hendrix direct the slur at the child. Knowing the boy personally, he confronted Hendrix with his phone camera recording, asking if he had heard her correctly.
"Yeah," she replied. When Omar pressed her to justify making such a vile comment, Hendrix doubled down.
“If he acts like one, then he’s going to be called one,” Hendrix says in the video.
Omar told NBC News the boy was upset and shaken following the confrontation.
In her fundraiser, Hendrix claimed the child had taken something from her infant son's diaper bag. Omar said the boy’s parents were at the park but were watching their three other children when the incident occurred.
Hendrix said her personal information was shared almost immediately after the video went viral.
“I fear that we must relocate,” she wrote. “I have two small children who do not deserve this. We have been threatened to the extreme by people online. Anything will help! We cannot, and will not live in fear!”
Rochester NAACP President Walé Elegbede told the Star Tribune he was disgusted by the incident and hoped police would investigate.
“Now she’s fundraising on this, and that is just abhorrent and totally unacceptable,” he told the newspaper. “She needs to face legal consequences for all her actions. This is a disgrace.”
Rochester police confirmed in a Facebook post that they had received multiple reports about the video and said investigators were “actively looking into the matter.”
The NAACP launched a fundraiser for the 5-year-old boy and his family, which was closed after exceeding its $300,000 goal.
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