Woman fired after blocking man from entering building speaks out
The woman who was fired from her job, after video of her stopping a black neighbour from entering their apartment building went viral, has defended her actions.
D’Arreion Toles was trying to enter his apartment building in Missouri, US, when the white woman blocked the doorway and refused to let him past.
In footage which Mr Toles uploaded to Facebook last Friday, the woman, later identified as Hilary Thornton, is shown blocking the doorway and asking Mr Toles which apartment he lives in, as he didn’t have a fob to access entry.
The woman, who claims to be have an African-American husband, was reportedly sacked from her job for racial profiling, after the clip went viral.
“When I noticed an individual that I did not know here, my only thought was to follow directions I had been given by condo association board members repeatedly; and that’s to never allow access to anyone that you don’t know,” she told Fox2 St Louis.
The resident said she had several emails from the body corporate advising residents not to allow people they didn’t recognise to access the building.
Ms Thornton claims she asked Mr Toles if he had a fob to enter the building and he didn’t respond.
“He would not show me one,” she said.
The resident said she has received death threats over the incident and feels hurt by being called “racist”.
“That’s absolutely false and heartbreaking. Those are words that cut deep,” she said.
“I do not think I did anything wrong.”
