A woman has identified several of her family members as US Capitol rioters after seeing viral footage of her mum getting punched in the face online:
Helena Duke says she has gone through 'a little guilt', but has no regrets for outing her relatives, adding that what they did was 'horrific'.
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The 18-year-old identified her mum Therese in one of the viral videos where she can be seen getting punched in the face outside the Capitol building where pro-Trump protestors rioted.
On 7 January, Helena went viral for commenting on the clip, writing: "Hi mom remember the time you told me I shouldn't go to BLM protests bc they could get violent...this you?"
In a follow-up tweet, Helena also identified her uncle and aunt in the footage.
Her tweet has racked up over 427,000 likes with 83,000 retweets and 5,800 comments from people - mostly supporting Helena's decision.
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Therese told the Boston Herald she was 'looking for a place to eat' with 'like-minded' Trump supporters when the incident happened.
She added: "I did nothing wrong."
Speaking to Teen Vogue, Helena said: "My cousin sent me the video of my mom [allegedly] harassing that woman and then getting punched in the face.
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"I was in disbelief and it felt very surreal that she was actually there and the woman in that viral video was my mother. It was very overwhelming."
Helena says she wanted to out her family because 'during the height of the Black Lives Matter protests, I was told by my mother that I wasn't allowed to go because she believed BLM was a violent organisation'.
Talking about the reaction to her decision, Helena said: "Overall, it has been really heart-warming, the support I've gotten from people all over the nation opening up their homes and telling me they're welcoming me into their families.
"Obviously, there has been backlash from Trump supporters, but it's been very minimal. The number of people who have been able to relate to this situation is insane. It's just crazy to think so many of them are like, 'You've inspired me'... because I'm just an 18-year-old girl."
Speaking to TMZ about her mum supporting Trump, Helena said: "She has been a Democrat her whole life up until the Trump presidency where after about the first year of his presidency, she returned from a Democrat to a radically right person and it was very unsettling and the things that she would say, I was taken back by.
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"I was like, 'what are you talking about' because she did come up with a lot of conspiracy theories. I'd present her with educated point and facts that I have studied or researched because I would want to be as unbiased as possible."
Helena has now set up a GoFundMe page to help her pay for college. She wrote: "At the moment I have no idea how I will be paying for college as I have little financial support. I have a dream of one day becoming a lawyer but I need help to get there.
"I hope to attend college and then go into the peace corps. Eventually I hope to enter into law school. I want to make the world a better place I just need some help."
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You can donate to Helena's page here.
Featured Image Credit: GoFundMe