Chair Gaines: “Absolutely shameful… Louisiana deserves better”

BATON ROUGE, LA - On September 17, 2024, Republican Sen. John Kennedy made a fool of himself in the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on hate crimes when he repeatedly badgered a leading Arab-American civil rights activist and told her she should “hide her head in a bag.”

The activist, Maya Berry of the Arab American Institute, repeatedly denounced any support for Hamas, Hezbollah, or any type of organization promoting violence and conflict in the Middle East, contrary to Kennedy’s claims - instead, pointing out that the fact that Kennedy’s line of questioning perfectly illustrated the need for the very hate crime hearing in which they both were present.

“Senator, oddly enough, I’m going to say thank you for that question, because it demonstrates the purpose of our hearing today in a very effective way. Hamas is a foreign terrorist organization that I do not support, but you asking the executive director of the Arab American Institute that question very much puts the focus on the issue of hate in our country. It’s regrettable that I, as I sit here, have experienced the very issue that we’re attempting to deal with today,” Berry said.

Instead of actually listening to Berry’s detailed and thoughtful responses, Kennedy baselessly pestered and chastised her for supporting violent terrorist organizations that she had repeatedly denounced, finally yelling at her, “You should hide your head in a bag.”

Louisiana Democratic Party Chair Randal Gaines issued the following statement: 

“It is absolutely shameful that a United States Senator told a civil rights leader to ‘hide her head in a bag.’ If there’s anyone that should be hiding after making these kinds of comments and behavior, it’s Sen. Kennedy.

“Unfortunately, this kind of hateful, barbaric, degrading rhetoric is nothing new from the Republican party - just look no further than their presidential candidate, who regularly spews this kind of xenophobic language every day to the detriment of our democracy. Sen. Kennedy is one of the main offenders when it comes to replicating and amplifying Trump’s bigotry.

“Louisiana deserves better than to be represented by someone who so casually exhibits narrow-minded, insensitive behavior. It’s embarrassing. Sen. Kennedy’s comments aren’t in the best interest of trying to solve the crises in the Middle East, nor are they in the best interest of Louisianans all across this state who need him to be working for them. Trust us, we’ll remember this when he’s on the ballot in 2028.”