Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA) speaks during a press conference on the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) with members of the House Freedom Caucus on July 14, 2023 in Washington, D.C.

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Louisiana Rep. Clay Higgins on Thursday retracted comments he made about Haitian immigrants in a now-deleted social media post.

“You never want to intentionally hurt someone’s feelings, and that post was intended for Haitian gangs, you understand?” Higgins, a Republican, told reporters according to The Hill. “Not for, I mean, Haiti as a country, not at all. And the unintended impact that was expressed very sincerely from one of my colleagues very graciously, that touched me as a gentleman.”

NPR contacted Higgins’ office for comment but has not received a response.

Higgins has received backlash in recent days for amplifying false claims about Haitians eating pets and calling them “thugs” in response to a report by the Associated Press. The news organization reported that the Haitian Bridge Alliance, a nonprofit group supporting Haitians, is seeking criminal charges against former President Donald Trump and his running mate, JD Vance,

“Lol. 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 on his official account on X. “All these thugs better get their mind right and their asses out of our country before January 20th.”

Asked about his comments on CNN later Wednesday, Higgins defended the tweet.

“It’s all true,” Higgins said, according to the news organization. “I can put up another controversial post tomorrow if you want me to. I mean, we do have freedom of speech. I’ll say what I want.”

The Congressional Black Caucus on Wednesday condemned his comments and introduced a resolution to censure Higgins.

“Referring to Haiti as the “nastiest country in the western hemisphere” and denigrating Haitians with vile and demeaning terms goes against a foundational principle about our country: that America is a nation of immigrants where all are welcome,” the caucus said in a statement. “Every member of Congress must be clear that we need to eliminate hate in all its forms. It is time to turn the page on this pattern of denigrating and villainizing immigrants for political gain.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters during a press conference on Wednesday that Higgins was approached by congressional members about the post and took it down, saying the lawmaker “regretted” what he posted.

“Clay Higgins is a dear friend of mine and a colleague from Louisiana and a very frank and outspoken person. He’s also a very principled man. I think – I didn’t even see it – but he tweeted something today about Haitians. And he was approached on the floor by colleagues who said that was offensive,” Johnson told reporters. “I just talked to him about it, he said he went to the back and he prayed about it and he regretted it. And he pulled the post down. That’s what you want a gentleman to do. I’m sure he probably regrets some of the language he used. But you know, we move forward. We believe in redemption around here.”