Ron Paul's 'End the TSA' Exceeds Quarter Million Fundraising Goal in 3 Days

Ron Paul reached his goal of raising a quarter million dollars to End the TSA in just three days with the help of small-dollar donors infuriated with the agency's security procedures.

On Thursday night the Texas congressman and Republican presidential hopeful had raised more than $250,000 since announcing the End the TSA Money Bomb on Monday, according to his campaign Web site.

Reports that Rand Paul had been detained by the TSA wildly circulated the Internet after Ron Paul tweeted about the incident, but the agency denies formally detaining the senator.

My son @SenRandPaul being detained by TSA for refusing full body pat-down after anomaly in body scanner in Nashville. More details coming, tweeted the U.S. representative.

The loyalty and dedication of the Paul-lites, as some have deemed them, as well as the Texan's use of social media has made Paul one of the most re-tweeted an re-posted GOP candidate on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. According to a study by Business Wire, Ron Paul attracts the most interaction through social media platforms among the rest of the candidates.

As of Friday at 11 a.m., donations had surpassed $263,600. In one day, the money bomb raised over $125,000, according to Business Insider.

The International Business Times has reached out to the Paul campaign about how exactly the funds will be used and will update this article with the response.

End the TSA is hardly a record for the GOP candidate. In the weekend ahead of the South Carolina debate, Paul launched another money bomb that raised $1.3 million, according to CNN. The strategy has also brought in $14 million the fourth quarter.

The numbers are much less than the donations other candidates have been raking in, however. Mitt Romney raised $24 million in the past three months, according to CNN.

Paul has been a long-time critic of the Transportation Security Administration, claiming it violates civil liberties and gropes and grabs our children, our seniors, and our loved ones and neighbors with disabilities ... while doing nothing to keep us safe.

Please, give whatever you are able right away to our End the TSA Money Bomb to help us keep the spotlight on this out-of-control organization and restore respect for freedom and common decency to the White House, Paul said in an e-mail to supporters, according to the Daily Caller.

The money bomb was inspired by an incident at the Nashville, Tenn., airport when Paul's son, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, walked through a security scanner and triggered an alarm. Rand Paul apparently refused a full-body pat-down while he was on his way to the anti-abortion March for Life protest in Washington, D.C.

Paul has been outspoken about his criticisms of the TSA for years. In 2010, he introduced legislation that would make it illegal for federal agents to look at nude pictures, grope another person or expose them to X-rays for under the pretense of security.

Last year, Paul questioned TSA Administrator John Pistole on procedures and protocol after a 6-year-old girl from the senator's hometown was patted down.