The police officer who posted a hilarious video mocking LeBron James was suspended from his job over the harmless joke — so people rallied and raised over $75,000 for him overnight.
Nate Silvester, an officer in Bellevue, Idaho, was suspended for a week over his viral TikTok video responding to the basketball player’s threat against the cop who was involved in the fatal shooting of an armed teenager who was in the process of trying to stab another girl.
Silvester’s best friend, Gannon Ward, started a fundraiser to try and raise a few bucks so that his friend would not be out any pay over the joke. The Gateway Pundit posted an article about his fundraiser around 7 p.m. — and it immediately blew up.
By this afternoon, people had donated $78,000.
Silvester said that he is going to donate a portion of the money to The First Responders Children’s Foundation, a charity for the families of fallen officers and first responders.
“I never expected my tiktok to go viral the way it did. However, when it started gaining traction I anticipated that some would come out in opposition and there would be some blow back,” Silvester said, when asked by Gateway if he imagined he would get in trouble over the joke.
We asked if his department has been supportive — as calls for him to lose his job were coming from politicians in the city.
“My immediate supervisors and coworkers have been supportive but have also tried to stay neutral so as not to put their jobs at risk — which is very understandable. They are great officers and incredible human beings,” Silvester said.
Asked if he is planning to continue making TikTok videos, which he began doing in an attempt to humanize police officers, Silvester said that he is.
“Yes I am! This has become much bigger than I could have expected,” he said. “I have a following of amazing people who have shown their overwhelming support for me and law enforcement in general. We need to keep this momentum going! There are so many good men and women in law enforcement who are doing a tough job everyday. During such an uncertain time for us I want them to experience the same love and support I’ve been shown these last few days. Their lives matter!”
The officer added that “I would like everyone to know how grateful I am for the donations, calls, messages emails etc. There are no words to describe my level of appreciation for the support I’ve received.”
Those who wish to contribute can still do so here.
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