Man pulled knife and yelled slurs at Black man walking in ‘white’ Kansas town, feds say
A Kansas man accused of threatening a Black man with a knife and hurling racial slurs for walking in a predominately white neighborhood faces up to a decade in prison, federal prosecutors say.
Colton Donner, 27, pleaded guilty to one count of Interference with Housing on Thursday, Feb. 10, according to court documents obtained by McClatchy News. In a news release, the Department of Justice alleges Donner accosted the man in 2019 to “intimidate and interfere with the man’s right to fair housing” because of his race.
The man, identified in court documents as “D.H.,” was living at a home in Paola, prosecutors wrote in an indictment. The town is home to just over 5,700 residents, according to the latest available census data, and sits southwest of Kansas City.
It’s nearly 90% white, data shows, with just 4% of residents who identify as African-American.
Donner was driving through a residential neighborhood on Sept. 11, 2019, when he spotted the man walking along the street, prosecutors said. That’s when he stopped his car, got out and approached the man while carrying a knife.
Donner then “threatened the victim, yelled racial slurs, and told the victim that Paola is a ‘white town,’” the release states.
A public defender assigned to Donner didn’t immediately return a request for comment from McClatchy News on Friday, Feb. 11.
“Every individual has the right to occupy a home free from racial discrimination, yet the defendant targeted the victim for no other reason than the victim’s race,” Special Agent in Charge Charles Dayoub of the FBI Kansas City Field Office said in a statement.
“The defendant’s actions directly undermined the victim’s right to reside in a community in Paola, Kansas, and to enjoy the protections afforded under the federal civil rights act,” Dayoub said.
If convicted, Donner faces a maximum of 10 years in prison followed by three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine, according to documents filed in connection with the plea agreement.
It’s unclear if a sentencing date has been set.
This story was originally published February 11, 2022 at 9:33 AM with the headline "Man pulled knife and yelled slurs at Black man walking in ‘white’ Kansas town, feds say."