Christine Blasey Ford is Still Getting Death Threats, Lawyers Say

One month after she testified in front of Congress about her sexual abuse allegations against Supreme Court justice Brett Kavanaugh, Christine Blasey Ford’s name has mostly disappeared from the headlines. But that doesn’t mean life has returned to normal. According to Ford’s lawyers, she and her family are still receiving threats.

“Justice Kavanaugh ascended to the Supreme Court, but the threats to Dr. Ford continue,” Ford’s lawyers, Debra Katz, Lisa Banks and Michael Bromwich, told NPR today.

During Kavanaugh’s nomination process, news about Ford and the other accusers blanketed the media. At the time, Ford said she was forced to move four times, pay for a security detail, and had to take time off her job as a professor at Palo Alto University. It seems Ford is still unable to return to work, and her lawyers didn’t tell NPR when that would be happening.

“My family and I have been the target of constant harassment and death threats,” she told the Senate committee during her hearing. “People have posted my personal information on the Internet. This has resulted in additional emails, calls, and threats. My family and I were forced to move out of our home. … My family and I have been living in various secure locales, with guards.”

Two GoFundMe campaigns started during the nomination raised a total of $800,000 for Ford’s protection and to help with the costs of taking time off work. But it’s unclear if the money has reached her.

“My understanding from GoFundMe is that [she] has access to the money my campaign raised (I do not know if she has withdrawn it),” Heidi Feldman, who started one of the campaigns, told NPR. “I have no information about whether or how she has used or plans to use it.”

In an investigation, RealClearPolitics pointed out that Ford’s family own millions in real estate, so money might not be their number one concern at the moment.

“Dr. Ford and her family have tremendous gratitude for the generous crowdfunded contributions they have received,” Ford’s lawyers said. “These funds have been used exclusively for necessary costs of physical security and housing occasioned by coming forward about her sexual assault by Brett Kavanaugh.”

Her lawyers added that any additional funds raised would be donated to “organizations that support trauma survivors,” though they didn’t name which organizations.