By Police1 Staff
ST. LANDRY PARISH, La. — Cpt. Clay Higgins, the viral star who made headlines after posting videos that warned suspects he was on their tail, resigned Monday, KATC reported.
Higgins made the announcement on the steps of the St. Landry Parish Courthouse. He said he was not forced to resign amid the ACLU backlash of his latest video, but wanted to turn in his badge.
“I will not kneel to violent street gangs,” Higgins said. “I will not kneel to murderers or the parents that raised them. I will not kneel to a discredited, wanna-be, black activist that doesn’t really have the best interest of his people in mind, who just wants to make a profit.”
Higgins told reporters he admired the sheriff but could not abide by his orders.
“I would die rather than sacrifice my principles,” Higgins said. “I would leave my wife without a husband, my children without a daddy, rather than kneel to the very forces of evil that I have so long stood against.”
The resignation comes on the heels of a controversial video where Higgins along with several other law enforcement agencies addressed the Gremlins street gang.
The ACLU released a statement on Higgins’ video questioning his choice of words like “heathens” and “animals.”
Sheriff Bobby Guidroz had been quoted saying he didn’t support the latest video and that the Crime Stoppers had gotten away from their original message.
In a statement released to the news site, Guidroz said: “First of all; I repeatedly told him to stop saying things like, ‘you have no brain cells, or making comments that were totally disrespectful and demeaning. Second; Clay Higgins appeared on the cover of a local magazine in full dress uniform without my approval and permission.“
Higgins said he will remain a constable. In his full statement he said, “My future is bright, because the path I’m on, is illuminated by God’s light... and by his grace, I’ll move forward.”
The latest video from Higgins garnered over 13 million views.