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Red Cross Stops Cop Praying for Louisiana Flood Victims

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A police captain assisting flood victims in Louisiana says he was told by the American Red Cross to stop praying with displaced residents because, "people might be offended."

In a now viral video posted on Facebook, Capt. Clay Higgins says, "This flood is biblical in proportion, and I believe it certainly calls for a biblical response."

He says he wanted to offer love, encouragement, compassion and prayer for people who had been displaced and were living in the temporary shelter set up in his town of Lafayette. 

As Higgins began to pray with a flood victim he was tapped on the shoulder by a Red Cross volunteer, who he says "kindly" asked him to leave. The volunteer explained that the Red Cross couldn't allow him to pray in their shelter because his prayers could be offending others.

Higgins calls the interaction "a reminder" from God "about some of the larger challenges that we face."

"Our First Amendment rights include the freedom of religion and the free practice thereof," Higgins said in his video. "But moreover, man, bigger than our own First Amendment, what's wrong with offering love and prayer to people that are in a shelter?"

According to a spokeswoman for the American Red Cross, the organization's policy states that no religion can be singled out and practiced.

But the organization also told The Advocate newspaper that if Higgins had approached managers, they would have accommodated him.

 

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About The Author

Caitlin Burke Headshot
Caitlin
Burke

Caitlin Burke serves as National Security Correspondent and a general assignment reporter for CBN News. She has also hosted the CBN News original podcast, The Daily Rundown. Some of Caitlin’s recent stories have focused on the national security threat posed by China, America’s military strength, and vulnerabilities in the U.S. power grid. She joined CBN News in July 2010, and over the course of her career, she has had the opportunity to cover stories both domestically and abroad. Caitlin began her news career working as a production assistant in Richmond, Virginia, for the NBC affiliate WWBT