Congressional candidate says man threatened to set him on fire

LONGVIEW – East Texas congressional candidate Jrmar Jefferson said he was threatened while he was pumping gas at Sam’s Club in Longview on Wednesday. Jefferson is a Democratic candidate in the race for U.S. House Texas District 1 against Republican Nathaniel Moran. According to our news partner KETK, Jefferson said a white man around 70 years old threatened him. “He says he ought to hose me down with the gas pump making (a) gesture and set me on fire,” said Jefferson. He said he froze for a second and didn’t want to reach inside his car in case the man had a gun.

“I told him, ‘How could you treat another American like that?’” said Jefferson. The candidate said he called the Longview Police Department, and they will be filing a report. Jefferson is also hoping to get access to the video footage at the gas station because the other man “fled the scene.” “We cannot let that deter us. We’re going to keep registering voters,” said Jefferson. Longview Police confirmed Jefferson filed a police report on Wednesday but would not speak to the contents of the report.