Woman who was fired after blocking Black man from entering his apartment says she’s married to a Black man and isn’t racist
The white woman at the center of a viral video showing her blocking a Black man from entering his apartment in St. Louis, is speaking out to defend her actions and insist that she had the right to do so.
—St. Louis woman who blocked a Black man from entering apartment building, fired—
Hilary Thornton, who has since been fired from her job, told Fox 2 station that she has been receiving countless death threats and was labeled a racist. But she said claims she was only doing her due diligence after the man forced his way inside the apartment building and didn’t have a key fob.
“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 said.
Thornton then produced emails from the condo association outlining what resident should do if they see someone enter the building unauthorized.
D’Arreion Toles, however really did live in the building and entered by way of a cracked door after Thornton left it open to take her dog out for a pee.
Therefore, Thornton created a security breach and then tried to bully a resident because of her own wrongdoing.
“I simply asked if he lived there because the direction from the association is … that if you don’t know the person, you don’t let them in,” she said.
After creating the security breach by leaving the door open, Thornton then asked Toles if he had a key fob, but he didn’t feel obligated to answer her and she stalked him down the hall all the way to his apartment door.
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“It’s the only indicator any resident has that they live in the building and he wouldn’t answer me,” she said. “He would not show me one.”
“…Because the camera was pointed at the ground and that’s when you hear me say, ‘Oh my God, are you serious?’ and that’s when he says, ‘Go ahead, call police,’” she said.
Thornton has since been fired by her employer Tribeca STL after the video went viral. She said she’s been hurt by being labeled as a racist.
“That’s false and heartbreaking,” she said. “Those are words that cut deep.”
Thornton said she’s legally married to a Black man.
