Kevin McGill/AP
In response to the terrorist attack in London, Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA) put forward a radical proposal: kill anyone suspected of being an Islamic extremist.
On his campaign Facebook page, Higgins, a former police officer, said: Posted this message:
The free world… the entire Christian world… is at war with Islamic terror. Not a penny of the American treasure should be given to any country that harbors these heathen animals. No suspicion of Islamic extremism should be given any scruples. Their intended entry into the American homeland should be summarily denied. Every conceivable measure should be taken to hunt them down. Hunt them down, identify them and kill them. Kill them all. For the sake of all that is right and good. Kill them all.
The post was published early Sunday morning. On Saturday evening, suspected terrorists killed seven people during an attack on London Bridge. ISIS claimed responsibility for these killings.
In declaring that the Christian world was “at war with Islamic terror,” Higgins was adopting the theme of the far right: the war against extremist jihadists is part of a fundamental conflict between Christian society and Islam. In this Facebook post, he was calling for the killing of not only terrorists convicted of heinous acts, but also anyone suspected of committing such an act. He did not explain how the United States would determine how to identify Islamic extremists in order to prevent them from entering the United States. It was not clear whether his proposal to refuse any assistance to any country harboring “these heathen animals” would apply to England, France, Indonesia, Spain and other countries where jihadist cells have committed horrific acts of violence.
Higgins’ office refused to allow Mother Jones Reporter to speak to the congressman’s spokesman. But his spokesman confirmed in an email that the Facebook post was real.
In late January, Higgins introduced A.J Fiery word speech Attacking Democrats and the “liberal media” for opposing President Donald Trump’s travel ban on Muslims. He declared that “radical Islamic terror has taken hold of the world and…incredibly…has been allowed into our nation with wanton disregard.”
Shortly before running for Congress, Higgins to resign From his position as public information officer for the St. Landry Parish Sheriff’s Office, where he gained fame as “Cajun John Wayne” for his hard-hitting CrimeStopper videos. Higgins abruptly resigned after his boss, the sheriff, ordered him to tone down his unprofessional comments. “I repeatedly asked him to stop saying things like, ‘You don’t have brain cells,’ or making completely disrespectful and insulting comments,” Al-Sharif said.
“I’m not good at holding myself back,” Higgins noted at the time. “Although I love and respect my mayor, I must resign.”
to update: Chris Cuomo, a spokesman for Higgins’ campaign, said: Mother Jones In an email: “Rep. Higgins refers to terrorists. He calls for hunting down and killing all terrorists. “This is an idea that all of America and Britain should unite behind.”