A GoFundMe campaign raised over $30,000 to benefit Hoyt Hutchinson, a man who recently stabbed one of the notorious “Baby Trump” balloons “beyond repair,” according to The Hill.
The initial target of the ‘Free Hoyt’ campaign was $6,000, but has raised five times as much. The cash will go to pay Hutchinson’s “legal fees and restitutions.”
Speaking in a video uploaded online, Hutchinson pledged to donate whatever might be left to the Republican Party.
Hutchinson made headlines Saturday after using a knife to stab a Baby Trump balloon displayed by demonstrators in Tuscaloosa, Florida, to protest the president’s appearance at a college football game. The vandal was arrested and charged with felony first degree criminal mischief after attempting to flee the scene, according to The Hill.
Hoyt was released from custody on a $2,500 bond, the Tuscaloosa Police Department said.
The balloon characterization of the US president appears to be one of several copies of the original Baby Trump balloon made in the UK ahead of Trump’s 2018 visit to London. Since then, US protesters have acquired permission to copy the blimp’s design, and conducted a GoFundMe campaign of their own, vastly exceeding the target of $4,500, which allowed for the purchase of six copies, available for “adoption” by different protest groups across the US. The US copies use the exact same diaper/cellphone design of the original UK balloons.