Missouri legislative candidate Justice Horn says he experienced racial harassment while canvassing in a Lake Tapawingo neighborhood.
The incident was partially caught on video and posted to Horn’s TikTok page. He overlaid the video with the words, “Knocking [on] doors as a Black Man – She followed me with a weapon.” Horn wrote that the encounter was “deeply unsettling” and explained the interaction at length in his caption.
“I was speaking with a kind older resident at a door when another woman suddenly interrupted our conversation and asked her, “Ma’am, are you okay?
The woman I was speaking to replied, ‘Yeah, why would you ask that?’ She responded, ‘I was just making sure he’s not dangerous,’ and then aggressively confronted me about why I was in the neighborhood—afterward, she followed me down the street with a hooked pole and removed my campaign literature from a doorstep.”
Horn says he began to document the interaction by recording on his cellphone. Once the unidentified woman noticed the camera her story changed. The woman claimed her harassment and removal of campaign literature was in response to Horn illegally soliciting neighbors.
Horn is no stranger to targeted harassment. In 2022, several of his campaign signs were defaced with homophobic slurs, according to KMBC-TV. He said then that the vandalism would not deter him from continuing to run for office.
Despite repeated intimidation, he remains committed to local canvassing and advocating for his community.
“Let me be clear: this behavior does not represent the many good-hearted people I’ve had the privilege of meeting here. Yes, it shook me. But I’m not backing down. I came here to meet voters, listen, and serve—and that’s exactly what I intend to keep doing,” Horn wrote.
Similar harassment has targeted other Black political figures. In 2023, Colorado Springs’ first Black mayor, Yemi Mobolade, testified in court about a disturbing campaign stunt, the AP News reported. Mobolade was witness to a cross burning in front of his campaign signs. Additionally, the paraphernalia was defaced with racial slurs.
“It felt very targeted against me… that symbol of hate… was now directed toward me,” Mobolade told jurors.
Prosecutors said the act was intended to create fear and influence the election, a claim supported by three separate convictions in the case.
Horn and Mobolade continue to serve their perspective communities. Both men stand as examples of resilience against racial discrimination in politics.
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