US Congressman on Suspected Islamic Extremists: 'Kill Them All'

A Louisiana congressman with a history of saying some pretty offensive comments took to Facebook on Sunday to offer his take on what America should do following the weekend's terror attack in London: Hunt down suspected radicalized Muslim terrorists and kill them.

The comments came from Clay Higgins, a Trump supporter and former law enforcement officer. Besides calling human beings "animals" and basing the priorities of a nation on what is "good and righteous" according to one religion, the most important word he used here is "suspect." If Higgins had his way, according to the post, it wouldn't matter if an individual actually committed a crime or not. If he or she is a suspect, there should be no investigation, no trial, no sentencing, just death.

Higgins's campaign spokesman, Chris Comeaux, has since had to clarify his boss's comments, and blamed the "leftist media" for misinterpreting the post, according to USA Today.

"Rep. Higgins is referring to terrorists," Comeaux said in a statement. "He's advocating for hunting down and killing all of the terrorists. This is an idea all of America and Britain should be united behind."

Before running for Congress and throwing his support behind Donald Trump during the campaign, the Republican representative was the captain of the St. Landry Parish Sheriff's office in Louisiana. Before he left in 2016, after facing criticism for making offensive comments to the public, he made a few viral Crime Stoppers videos—one in which he referred to alleged gang members "animals" who should be "hunted."

Higgins's Facebook post on Sunday is just the latest from an elected Republican official to face criticism in recent weeks. Last month, Karl Oliver, a member of Mississippi's House of Representatives, wrote a post calling for anyone who removes Confederate monuments to be "lynched." Whereas Oliver apologized for his comments shortly after making them, it doesn't seem like Higgins plans to do so.

Follow Drew Schwartz on Twitter.

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