Caroline Morrison-Howard has lived in her Louisiana home for 30 years. In the last six months, a 13-year-old neighbor made her feel unsafe in it — and now she's fighting back in court.
Morrison-Howard, 71, and her son Kwasi Wallace filed a civil lawsuit on June 4 in Louisiana's 19th Judicial District Court against the parents of the teenager accused of terrorizing their home with a months-long campaign of racist vandalism — including the night he crossed the street wearing a full Ku Klux Klan robe and hood and spray-painted racial slurs, swastikas, and neo-Nazi symbols on their property.
According to the lawsuit, per the Atlanta Black Star, the harassment began in late December 2025 when the woman's caregiver found a car tire had been punctured. In February 2026, a ditch next to her property was set on fire. In April, the caregiver's tire was punctured again — this time with a swastika carved into the vehicle's paint. Then, on May 24, the teenager walked across the street in a full KKK robe and defaced the home with the N-word, "HH" for "Heil Hitler," the number 1488 — a well-known white supremacist code — and additional hate symbols.
When police searched the teen's bedroom, they found a Nazi flag hanging on the wall.
"You don't never know if you'll be able to walk out of your door at night without somebody throwing something on you or throwing something on your house," Morrison-Howard told WAFB. "I have lived in this house for 30 years and never experienced anything like this."
The family's attorney, Ryan Thompson, said the pattern of conduct rises to the level of stalking and terrorism under Louisiana law — and that the parents must be held accountable. "When you're talking about a minor, the parents have to be held accountable," Thompson said at a June 9 news conference held at Morrison-Howard's home, where the NAACP Baton Rouge Branch also showed up in support.
Wallace said he believes his mother's neighbor was being initiated into the Klan the night he showed up in that robe. He called on Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry to get involved. "To Governor Jeff Landry, this is your time to show that you're not with this 'hug-a-thug' policy," Wallace said. "Let's not kiss a Klansman."
The Baton Rouge NAACP branch president, Rebecca Perloff said in a statement: "No family should be subjected to racial hatred, intimidation, or fear in the place where they should feel safest."
The East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office has said no charges are expected against the parents in the criminal case. The teenager, charged with criminal damage to property, criminal trespass, and hate crimes, had his bond set at $45,000 and was released to his grandparents' home — without an ankle monitor or mandatory mental health evaluation, a condition Thompson says must be revisited.
Morrison-Howard was forced to leave her home. She shouldn't have had to.
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