Juli Briskman lost her job after giving US President Donald Trump the finger.
In October, a photo of a
cyclist giving US President Donald Trump the finger, as his convoy passed, went viral. 50-year-old Juli Briskman, who identifies herself as a Democrat, said she didn't think twice before doing so. The gesture eventually cost the mother of two her job as she was laid off by her employer ten days later.
Days after her exit from her firm, government contractor Akima LCC, a crowdfunding page was set up to show support for the single mom.
Titled "Thank You Juli Briskman", the crowdfunding
page describes her as an "inspiration". In just seven days, the page has managed to raise $70,000 for the cyclist with the help of over 3,000 donations. It aims to raise $100,000 in total.
Former marketing professional Juli Briskman was cycling near Trump National Golf Club on the banks of the Potomac River, about 40 kilometers northwest of the White House when the President's convoy passed her.
"He was passing by and my blood just started to boil," Ms Briskman had told HuffPost.
"I'm thinking, he's at the damn golf course again."
Her gesture was captured by AFP White House photographer Brendan Smialowski who was riding in Mr Trump's convoy.
However, unidentifiable, Ms Briskman herself posted the viral photo on her Facebook and Twitter profiles. Her employer, a builder that works on government contracts, noticed the photo and let her go.
"Basically, you cannot have 'lewd' or 'obscene' things in your social media. So they were calling flipping him off 'obscene.'" she told HuffPost after getting the pink slip.
Till this day, the image remains her cover photo on her Facebook page.Click for more
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