Jett Croisant thought it would be funny to finally respond to his downstair neighbor's MAGA window display last week.
The Trump 2020 flag and Trump-as-Rambo signage had been on the windows below his apartment on East Fourth Street for a few months before whoever put them there took them down during the George Floyd protest in downtown Cleveland a couple of weeks ago.
When they reappeared, Croisant decided to tape a sign up that simply read: "Venmo @Jet513 and I will tapdance at midnight."
This was last Tuesday.
"I was just sick of the signs," he told Scene, noting that he has never actually met his neighbor.
By last Wednesday, he realized his joke had taken on a life of its own as he watched his Venmo account slowly but steadily attract donations.
"It was nonstop that day," Croisant said.
And it kept going as pics of the signs made their way around Facebook, Twitter and Reddit through the weekend.
Hundreds of dollars became thousands of dollars. Some lady asked for his shoe size and told him she'd send him tap shoes.
By Monday morning, Croisant told Scene the grand total had crossed $5,800, all of which and whatever else comes in he'll be donating to the ACLU.
There's still the matter of making good on his promise, of course.
Because "I need a place to live, and I hope I'm going to live here after this," there will be a special one-night only performance, his first and probably last, at some point in the near future, and there will be video for posterity.
"Paris Hilton just regrammed it," Croisant said as we talked. "So it's probably going to keep going for a bit. It's crazy."
