The San Francisco salon owner, who Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) alleges set her up by recording her visit to the facility without a mask last week, has received more than $300,000 in donations.
A GoFundMe page for Erica Kious, the owner of the salon where Pelosi was videotaped without a mask for a hair appointment, raised $310,725 from 8,800 donors as of Tuesday afternoon. The fundraiser surpassed its $300,000 goal on Labor Day.
Kious thanked the donors, her daughters, their “loving dad,” and her family and friends in a letter published on the page on Monday.
“I wish I could personally thank every person who sent me their prayers, words of encouragement and support, especially at a time when so many are struggling to make ends meet in their own lives,” she wrote.
“I am very humbled and grateful to have received such an outpouring of kindness, empathy and generosity from people I don’t even know, and from all walks of life and all sides of the political spectrum,” she added. “It’s a powerful reminder that the common things that bind us all together as Americans are far more meaningful and lasting than political and ideological differences that get so much attention and focus.”
The fundraising page claims to be set up by a friend of Kious and her family and pledges that “ALL donations will go directly to Erica to pay off any debts from the business that she is forced to shut down, expenses to relocate and reopen in a new location.”
Last week, Pelosi received backlash after the security footage showing her inside the salon without a mask over her face circulated online. Her salon visit came a day before San Francisco started permitting hair salons to open for outdoor appointments.
The Speaker addressed the video last Wednesday during a press conference where she claimed she was “set up” by the hair salon which she said informed her it was allowed to host one customer inside at a time.
“I take responsibility for trusting the word of a neighborhood salon that I’ve been to over the years many times, and that when they said that we’re able to accommodate people one person at a time and that we could set up that time, I trusted that. As it turns out, it was a set up. So I take responsibility for falling for the set up,” Pelosi said Wednesday.
San Francisco’s guidelines state that “any service that requires your customer to remove their face covering are not permitted at this time.”
Kious has denied a set up, while the hairstylist, who completed the cut and rented out space in the salon, supported the Speaker’s claim.
The salon owner told Fox News host Tucker Carlson later Wednesday that she has received “death threats” for disclosing Pelosi’s appointment.
The White House also jumped on the criticism of Pelosi, showing the footage of her in the salon during a White House press briefing.