A day after he walked out of a Kansas City, Mo., jail cell, the man who disrupted a speech by Mayor Sly James earlier this week said Thursday he's running for mayor himself.

Derron Black, 31, jumped onto the podium Tuesday during James' annual State of the City address, then knocked over a flag, took the microphone and began an obscenity-laced complaint about neglect of the city's poorer neighborhoods. 

James' security detail wrestled Black off the stage after a few seconds.

Black — who lost a race for the state House last year — was charged Wednesday with third-degree assault on a law enforcement officer and obstructing government operations. He posted bond and was released.

And Black's 2015 campaign kickoff Thursday was even more chaotic than his debut on the national stage had been Tuesday.

He called an afternoon news conference at which his advisers said he would announce his candidacy. But when reporters showed up, Black said he hadn't actually made a final decision, NBC station KSHB of Kansas City reported.

Black did, however, apologize to the bodyguard who tackled him Tuesday and ended up with cuts and bruises for his efforts. And he acknowledged that "getting frustrated like that and having an outburst is definitely not something that's appropriate," The Kansas City Star reported.

Then, as reporters pressed him with questions about his political intentions, Black's advisers began shooing them away from the press conference they themselves had organized.

Later Thursday, in a second news conference, Black finally took the mayoral leap, telling reporters that he would, indeed, run in 2015.

He said he became serious about the race while he was in jail after Tuesday's incident.

"Will it come back to hurt me? I hope not," he said.

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A man rushed the podium Tuesday during Kansas City Mayor Sly James' State of the City address, knocked over a flag and started cursing before security wrestled him off the stage.

James, a Democrat in his first term, barely reacted, looking on calmly as the man shouted obscenities into the microphone at the Gem Theater, home to the American Jazz Museum. It was the second year in a row that James has broken tradition by delivering the annual address in an unsecured public location, rather than at City Hall.

A member of James' security detail, Kansas City police Officer Marlon Buie, tackled the man, knocking him off the stage. The man, who hasn't been identified, was taken away in handcuffs.

"Well, that was unfortunate," James said when he resumed speaking.

Afterward, he told reporters: "I didn't have time to be scared. It happened so quickly. I'm just so glad my bodyguards were there."

Police Chief Darryl Forte, who was in attendance, acknowledged that the incident raised questions about James' security. He told The Kansas City Star that his department would launch a security review.

Forte said the man wasn't armed and wasn't ranting about James. 

James told The Star that he had full confidence in his security detail, saying there was nothing the officers could have done "except be standing with me side by side."

"We don't live in that way," he said.

James, who is noted for being active on Twitter, later tweeted:

Twitter.com

"Twice" apparently is a reference to the night of Aug. 13, 2011, when gunfire broke out near James as he toured the city's business district after having imposed a curfew because of earlier violent incidents. His guards pushed him to safety on the ground.

A small group of protesters outside the theater, who were objecting to what they characterized as James' neglect of the city's East Side, told NBC station KSHB of Kansas City that the man wasn't affiliated with them.

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Ed Zurga / AP file

Investigators look down a hole in an alley near JJ's Restaurant after an explosion destroyed the establishment Tuesday, Feb. 19, in Kansas City, Mo.

More than 70 restaurants in Kansas City, Mo., have pledged to donate part of the Saturday receipts to support employees of the restaurant that was destroyed in a massive gas explosion this week.

The explosion Tuesday killed one person, who hasn't been identified, and injured 15 others. One person remained in critical condition Friday, NBC station KSHB of Kansas City reported.

The support effort for the staff of JJ's Restaurant was organized by the Greater Kansas City Restaurant Association, which posted details on its Facebook page. By late Friday, the list of restaurants promising to donate 10 percent of their sales Saturday had grown to 74, KSHB reported.

JJ's, a Kansas City institution since 1985, was widely regarded as one of the premier dining locations in the Midwest, earning a 93 rating from Zagat's. The restaurant's wine cellar had been listed by The Wine Spectator as among the finest in the world.

You can watch the blast as it happened in this surveillance video obtained by KSHB:

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KHSB-TV via Reuters

Firefighters working at the scene of a fire triggered by a natural gas explosion in Kansas City on Tuesday night.

At least 14 people were injured and two others were missing after a fire triggered by a natural gas explosion Tuesday in an upscale business and shopping district of Kansas City, Mo., authorities said.

Kansas City police said the blast occurred about 6 p.m. (7 p.m. ET) outside JJ's Restaurant in Country Club Plaza. Enormous flames tore into the night sky outside the restaurant, which was at the center of the fire and was destroyed, NBC station KSHB reported.

Kansas City Fire Chief Paul Berardi told a news conference that the cause of the explosion was under investigation but said foul play was not suspected.

Early Wednesday, KSHB quoted Berardi as saying that a man and a woman were missing. 

"We are concerned that there may be additional people that were not able to get out of the structure," Berardi told reporters. "I always fear there may be fatalities in a situation like this."  

A statement released by the Missouri Gas Energy company said early indications are that a contractor doing underground work struck a natural gas line, but the investigation continues.

At the news conference, Berardi said MGE had turned off the gas at 8 p.m. local time (9 p.m. ET) and there was no danger of another explosion occurring in the area. The chief acknowledged the department had received earlier reports of gas odor in the area.

Authorities had told NBC News earlier in the evening that the explosion occurred when a car struck a gas main.

"Get out! You are not safe right here! Please!" rescue crews could be heard urging people who were trying to get a look at the scene in the blast's aftermath.

"Fire is mostly under control," Kansas City Mayor Sly James said on Twitter at about 8 p.m. ET, but numerous crews remained on the scene nearly an hour later as flames spewing thick, black smoke continued to burn. 

According to The Associated Press, City Manager Troy Schulte said he had not heard of any fatalities and was not aware of anyone being reported missing. After 10:30 p.m. ET, authorities began searching the scene with cadaver dogs.

At least 11 ambulances responded, fire officials said. A physician at Saint Luke's Hospital said in a brief news conference the hospital had received five patients, including two patients in critical condition -- one with severe burns and another with deep lacerations.

University of Kansas Hospital had received six injured people, including two in serious condition and one critical. Two patients drove themselves in with minor injuries.

Two patients arrived at the Research Medical Center, and another at the Truman Medical Center.

Witnesses told KSHB that they smelled natural gas in the area of the restaurant at least an hour before the explosion.

The blast occurred during the dinner hour at JJ's Restaurant, a Kansas City institution dating to 1985. JJ's is widely regarded as one of the best dinner spots in the Midwest, earning a 93 rating from Zagat's, and its wine cellar has been listed by The Wine Spectator as one of the finest in the world.

Carlo Dellaverson, Sossy Dombourian, Gina Gentilesco and Zoya Khan of NBC News contributed to this report.

This story was originally published on Tue Feb 19, 2013 11:51 PM EST