A California nurse who lost her job at Kaiser Permanente after writing on social media that Stephon Clark, an unarmed black man, deserved to be killed by police has raised more than $22,000 on GoFundMe.

“I’m a United States Military veteran who served as a medic, and then fulfilled my dream taking care of people by becoming a nurse,” Faith Linthicum wrote on her own GoFundMe page. “I was recently fired from my job as a nurse at Kaiser Permanente for exercising my First Amendment right to free speech.”

Ms. Linthicum, a former nurse in labor and delivery at Kaiser’s Roseville Medical Center, lost her job after writing on Facebook that Clark, whose March 18 death sparked protests in Sacramento, “deserved” to die.

“Yeah but he was running from the police jumping over fences and breaking in peoples houses … why run??!!! He deserved it for being stupid,” she wrote, The Sacramento Bee reported.

Sacramento activist Christina Arechiga shared Ms. Linthicum’s comments on social media, which sparked backlash against the nurse and Kaiser. By Friday, the company told The Sacramento Bee that Ms. Linthicum was no longer employed with them.

“Kaiser Permanente does not tolerate hate or discrimination and has a long history of embracing diversity and inclusion,” Kaiser Vice President Yvette Radford said in a statement. “We are very much a part of the wonderful and rich diversity of the communities we serve and feel a deep responsibility to them. We are deeply saddened by the events associated with Stephon Clark’s death, and will continue to do our part to make sure the community is healthy, safe and inclusive.”

On her GoFundMe page, Ms. Linthicum said she is not “a hateful or discriminatory person” and treats everyone equally.

“Kaiser Permanente fired me without any investigation, and without giving me an opportunity to explain or defend myself,” she wrote. “I am now unemployed and unable to pay rent, buy food for myself and my two dogs (French Bulldog & Great Dane), or make my car payments/insurance. I am asking for support during this trying time as I try to find employment and heal.”

Her page had raised $22,286 as of Wednesday afternoon.

An anonymous person also launched a counter-fundrasier on GoFundMe, titled, “Faith Linthicum Fired - Deserved It,” which had raised $2,113 for the Southern Poverty Law Center as of Wednesday afternoon.

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