House Representative Clay Higgins of Louisiana came under fire for a tweet on the Haitian group in Springfield that has filed criminal charges against Donald Trump and his running mate, JD Vance, over their comments on Haitians in the Ohio city eating pets.
The 63-year-old shared a post on X, which has now been deleted, in which he called Haiti the 'nastiest country in the western hemisphere.' He called the Haitians in Springfield 'slapstick gangsters' and 'thugs,' and called for them to leave the country.
"These Haitians are wild. Eating pets, vudu, nastiest country in the western hemisphere, cults, slapstick gangsters… but damned if they don't feel all sophisticated now, filing charges against our President and VP, Higgins wrote. "All these thugs better get their mind right and their ass out of our country before January 20th."
A huge backlash to the post followed, with users on social media alleging racism. Amid the post, the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) called for censorship of Higgins.
“I hope that every member of this body understands that no person, particularly those who contribute to communities…that those individuals, those children, no longer have to live in fear or intimidation because of any words or quotes to come from members of this body,” CBC Chair Steven Hosford said.
Social media did not take to Higgins remarks kindly, and attacked the Republican.
"Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA) just sent out this tweet. No dog whistle here — this is a full-on bullhorn," THe Daily Beast reporter Justin Baragona wrote.
Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA) just sent out this tweet. No dog whistle here — this is a full-on bullhorn. pic.twitter.com/pTC8pZFHzm
— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) September 25, 2024
"I thought this was fake, I had to check myself, and he posted this from his official government account," another said.
I thought this was fake, I had to check myself, and he posted this from his official government account. pic.twitter.com/zgC35AFpFS
— Alex Cole (@acnewsitics) September 25, 2024
"Clay Higgins is a racist POS. They need to add his name to the list and file charges against him too. I refuse to let this be our future. Trump has allowed these rock dwellers to come out of hiding," said one.
Clay Higgins is a racist POS. They need to add his name to the list and file charges against him too. I refuse to let this be our future. Trump has allowed these rock dwellers to come out of hiding. @RepClayHigginspic.twitter.com/S3ZWklquHN
— Geoff #HarrisWalz2024 (@GeoffBrown82) September 25, 2024
"Jesus told Representative Clay Higgins to stop Stormfront posting, so he took it down. Interesting that Jesus still holds some sway over Republicans, as we're in the process of him getting completely replaced by Trump," joked one.
Jesus told Representative Clay Higgins to stop Stormfront posting, so he took it down. Interesting that Jesus still holds some sway over Republicans, as we're in the process of him getting completely replaced by Trump. pic.twitter.com/z0ktUOJ7yO
— Richard Hanania (@RichardHanania) September 25, 2024
Higgins has been a representative from Louisiana's 3rd Congressional district since January 2017.