SHAWNEE — A Kansas City suburb has apologized after a Republican gubernatorial candidate in Kansas appeared in a parade atop a Jeep with what appeared to be a large gun mounted on the back .
The Kansas City Star reported that some onlookers appeared stunned by the sight of Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach on the red, white and blue-decorated vehicle at the Old Shawnee Days parade Saturday morning.
A spokesman for Kobach says the gun was a replica.
Shawnee Community Christian Church pastor Johnny Lewis says there were audible gasps from parade-goers as Kobach rode by.
Kobach said the outrage over his appearance in a parade atop a Jeep with a giant replica gun mounted on the back is “the left trying to attack guns” and the Second Amendment.
The Republican gubernatorial candidate said in a tweet Sunday that he will “not back down in the face of a snowflake meltdown and outrage culture.”
The Kansas Division of Emergency Management says someone subsequently hacked its Twitter account and sent a message that read: “Hey Kris, I think you are a bad guy with a gun. Also, maybe worse, you a dumb guy with a gun.”
The city of Shawnee issued a statement apologizing to those who felt unsafe and promising not to allow something similar in future.
