Clay Higgins is a bully who happens to represent the 3rd District of Louisiana in the House of Representatives. Being a bully isn’t something he used to do. Last year, Higgins was recorded shoving and assaulting a protester during an event in Washington, DC. He faced no repercussions.
Before his election to Congress in 2016, he was a police officer. Technically, he had just resigned from St. Landry Parish in March 2016 and became a part-time officer in Lafayette, LA. Higgins was controversial while an officer in St. Landry; He made videos for the parish Crime Stoppers program as a public information officer. He first used standard scripts but began to improvise, appealing to suspects to surrender and sometimes threatening them by name. Sheriff Bobby Guidroz urged restraint, advising Higgins to refrain from personal comments about suspects and to keep a professional tone in his videos.
Higgins also made a video for the state police, with a script that prompted protests from suspects’ families and the ACLU. He resigned from the St. Landry Parish Sheriff’s office in February 2016. Guidroz had warned him against using disrespectful and demeaning language about suspects, ordering him to “Tone down his unprofessional comments on our weekly Crime Stoppers messages.” Guidroz said that Higgins’ comments underlined “a growing undertone of insubordination and lack of discipline on Higgins’ part.”
The Army veteran had violated department policy by misusing his badge and uniform for personal profit and gain, wearing a uniform in an ad for a security firm. He was also reprimanded for using his badge and uniform on his personal website to support sales of T-shirts and shot glasses for his limited liability corporation (LLC). Higgins used the department’s physical address to register his corporation with the state. Both actions were against department policy.
Higgins “negotiated paid speaking appearances with other police departments. In one email, he discussed his request for a speaker’s fee that included shopping money for his wife and part of the fuel for a friend’s private plane.” He asked for cash payments. Higgins also conducted his private business via email on his government email-account during work hours without the permission or knowledge of his supervisors. He also appears to have attempted to conceal his earnings from the IRS to avoid wage garnishment for unpaid taxes.
In 2007, Higgins was a patrol officer for the Opelousas City police department. He resigned instead of receiving major disciplinary action for assaulting an unarmed Black man in custody. Police Chief Perry Gallow wrote a letter to the city council recommending discipline. The officer investigated alongside Higgins, accepted his punishment, and remained an Opelousas deputy for years. He later went to work for Higgins on his Congressional staff.
“Clay Higgins used unnecessary force on a subject during the execution of a warrant," said Police Chief Gallow. "[He] later gave false statements during an internal investigation…although he later recanted his story and admitted to striking a suspect in handcuffs and later releasing him.”
Higgins, 17 years later, is still that bully. On September 25, 2024, he issued a tweet that revealed as much of his character as all the previous incidents combined.
Higgins not only referred to the disgraced former President and his misogynist running mate as if they were the current office holders. Higgins demanded that they leave the country before Trump presumably took office after the November election. I shouldn’t have to explain why it’s racist to demand that legally present Black people should have to fear their government depending on who is in office. He demeaned an entire nation of people who have been persecuted for the entirety of the time since they successfully revolted against France, escaping enslavement. Had it not been for Haiti, Higgin’s native Louisiana might still be part of France. Napoleon got rid of it in the Louisiana Purchase fire sale, having had enough of ungrateful Black people.
Higgins removed his offensive tweet after being confronted by members of the Congressional Black Caucus. Democratic Representative Steven Horsford called for Higgins’ censure.
“These words on an official post do not reflect credibly on the House," said Horsford. "In fact, they are inciting hate. They are inciting fear, and because of that, it is time for this body to stand with one voice and to ensure that there is accountability.”
The House went into recess afterward, without taking immediate action.
Higgins and all House members are up for reelection in November. Perhaps the good people of Louisiana will decide that they can do better for themselves and the nation. Then again, he has been reelected three times.