GOP Representative Clay Higgins — who couldn’t even wait for the ink to dry on Donald Trump’s federal indictment last week before tweeting instructions on starting a Civil War in Florida — is now warning potential MAGA terrorists against falling for the “DOJ’s Trap.”
The Louisianna Republican seemingly lost it when Special Counsel Jack Smith handed down the indictments, not even waiting for the specifics such as Trump is facing dozens of counts, including the “willful retention” of some 300 classified documents. In a post shared with his followers on Twitter prior to the indictment being unsealed, Higgins used right-wing militia speech to galvanize Trump’s base.
President Trump said he has "been summoned to appear at the Federal Courthouse in Miami on Tuesday, at 3 PM."
This is a perimeter probe from the oppressors. Hold. rPOTUS has this.
Buckle up. 1/50K know your bridges. Rock steady calm. That is all.
— Rep. Clay Higgins (@RepClayHiggins) June 9, 2023
According to author and professor Jeff Sharlet, whose book The Undertow: Scenes from a Slow Civil War is basically a deep dive into right-wing extremism, Higgins’s knee-jerk tweet was a call to arms. Sharlet identified lingo like “know your bridges” and “perimeter probe” as terms extremists use to signal militant action.
Take this seriously. “Perimeter probe”: Higgins thinks indictment precedes bigger attack. “rPOTUS”: “real POTUS,” Trump. “Hold”: “stand back & stand by.” “Buckle up”: prepare for war. “1/50 k”: military scale maps. “Know your bridges”: militia speak for prepare to seize bridges. pic.twitter.com/8wMLQ0AvHA
— Jeff Sharlet (@JeffSharlet) June 9, 2023
So, to cover his own a** should any MAGA faithful try to blockade a Miami bridge when Trump heads to the courthouse on Tuesday, Higgins’ office released a statement that doesn’t reek of insanity as much as his social media bugle call did. In the press release, Higgins tried to absolve himself of any liability while accusing the Feds of “entrapment.”
“My fellow conservatives, the DOJ/FBI doesn’t expect to imprison Trump, they expect to imprison you. They want J6 again, in Miami and in your city and in mine. We will fight against this oppression. We are indeed, with every ounce of spirit, fighting against the insidious evil that threatens our beloved Republic, but We the People must fight against oppression legally, peacefully, and within the parameters of our Constitution.”
He also posted this to his Twitter account:
Patriots, we’ve manipulated the MSM to establish deep commo, now copy this… do NOT trip the wire they’ve laid for you. Maintain your family. Live your life. Know your bridges. Hold.
Let Trump handle Trump, he’s got this. We use the Constitution as our only weapon. Peace. Hold.
— Rep. Clay Higgins (@RepClayHiggins) June 10, 2023
You may remember Clay Higgins from his past notable moments of nuttery, like the time he filmed himself inside an Auschwitz gas chamber for social media and the time he claimed his wife — who was recently hospitalized after a “serious neurological episode” — has the “gift of premonition.”
(Via Mediaite)