A Baltimore woman may return the $43,000 she raised in retaliation to an anti-gay letter she received from a neighbor.
Julie Baker, of Baltimore's Overlea neighborhood, decorated her yard with multicolored mason jars, which resembled a rainbow pattern. Baker found a note soon after, stating that her yard was "becoming Relentlessly Gay!" and that she should "tone it down," according to the New York Daily News.
The note read: "Your yard is becoming Relentlessly Gay! Myself and Others in the neighborhood ask that you Tone it Down. This is a Christian area and there are Children. Keep it up and I will be forced to call the police on You! Your kind need to have Respect for GOD."
In response, Baker created a GoFundMe campaign called "Relentlessly Gay," saying that she would create an even more lavish display outside her home to combat the negativity, but after the campaign went viral and generated more than $43,000, she is backing out of the project, according to the Baltimore Sun.
"To deal with the debris, which includes taxes and an overabundance of resources, it is with a saddened heart that all donations will be returned," said Baker Tuesday. "It was getting frighteningly large. I don't think any one person needs that much money."
The campaign, which was shared on actor George Takei's Facbook page, is thought by some to be a scam, noting that the capitalization in the letter and GoFundMe page are strikingly similar, according to Snopes.
"I have been in contact with the police, they are satisfied with me..." she said. "They have no reason to believe that I have done anything wrong or been anything but authentic. They even have the long history of the various things that have happened to me since moving into my house."
The original creator of the note is unknown.
Baker said the original the goal for her campaign was $5,000.
