# Rich Higgins

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{{Short description|American analyst (1974–2022)}}
'''Richard Higgins''' (September 18, 1974 – February 23, 2022) was an American counter-terrorism analyst who served as the Director for Strategic Planning of the [National Security Council](/source/United_States_National_Security_Council) in the [Trump administration](/source/First_presidency_of_Donald_Trump) in 2017. He was removed by National Security Adviser [H.R. McMaster](/source/H.R._McMaster) after warning in a memo of a [deep state](/source/Deep_state_in_the_United_States) plot to remove the president.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/11/us/politics/rich-higgins-memo-national-security-council.html|title=White House Aide Forced Out After Claim of Leftist Conspiracy|first=Julie Hirschfeld|last=Davis|work=The New York Times|date=August 11, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/senior-nsc-official-ousted-after-writing-controversial-memo-about-trump-2017-8?r=US&IR=T|title=Senior National Security Council official reportedly ousted after writing bizarre memo about 'deep state' attack on Trump|first=Sonam|last=Sheth|work=Business Insider|date=August 2, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/08/a-national-security-council-staffer-is-forced-out-over-a-controversial-memo/535725/|title=An NSC Staffer Is Forced Out Over a Controversial Memo|first=Rosie|last=Gray|work=The Atlantic|date=August 2, 2017}}</ref>

==Career==
Higgins earned a [Bachelor of Science](/source/Bachelor_of_Science) in mechanical engineering from [Tufts University](/source/Tufts_University).<ref name="higgins">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jyvBzQEACAAJ|title=The Memo: Twenty Years Inside the Deep State Fighting for America First|first=Rich|last=Higgins|year=2020|publisher=Calamo|isbn=9780999705933}}</ref> After college, he served as a specialist in an [Explosive Ordnance Disposal](/source/Explosive_Ordnance_Disposal) unit in the [United States Army](/source/United_States_Army). After serving in the army, he went on to work for the [United States Department of Defense](/source/United_States_Department_of_Defense).<ref name="bostonglobe"/> As a civilian working for the Department of Defense, he attended the [National Defense University](/source/National_Defense_University_(Washington%2C_D.C.)) (NDU), studying security strategy and counter-terrorism and received a master's degree.<ref name="bostonglobe"/><ref>[https://www.lastingmemories.com/memorial/richard-higgins?obituaries "Higgins, Richard: Obituary"]. Retrieved 17 March 2024.</ref> He eventually became the National Defense University's first civilian chair.<ref name="bostonglobe"/> Higgins later served as the Vice President of [Unconstrained Analytics](/source/Unconstrained_Analytics).<ref name="higgins"/>

==Trump administration==
Some months after being appointed to serve in the National Security Council by National Security Advisor [Michael Flynn](/source/Michael_Flynn) in early 2017, Higgins wrote a seven-page memo titled "POTUS and Political Warfare"<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/white-house-trump-pentagon-alexander-vindman-michael-flynn-nsc-a9612846.html|title=White House insiders are worried that 'unhinged conspiracy theorists' are being given more and more powerful roles at the Pentagon|first=Andrew|last=Feinberg|work=The Independent|date=July 20, 2020}}</ref> which claimed that a cabal of deep state actors were conspiring against Trump, which included the [mainstream media](/source/mainstream_media), academia, global corporatists and bankers, the [Democratic Party](/source/Democratic_Party_(United_States)) leadership, the [Republican Party](/source/Republican_Party_(United_States)) leadership, and [Islamists](/source/Islamists).<ref name="theguardian"/><ref>{{cite news|url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2017/08/10/heres-the-memo-that-blew-up-the-nsc/|title=Here's the Memo That Blew Up the NSC|first1=Jana|last1=Winter|first2=Elias|last2=Groll|work=Foreign Policy|date=August 10, 2017}}</ref> Trump was reportedly "furious" after learning of Higgins' forced departure by Flynn's replacement, H.R. McMaster.<ref name="theguardian">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/aug/13/donald-trump-white-house-steve-bannon-rich-higgins|title=How Trump's paranoid White House sees 'deep state' enemies on all sides|date=August 13, 2017|work=The Guardian|first=David|last=Smith}}</ref>

In 2018, Higgins and retired CIA officer Brad Johnson, backed by about a dozen intelligence and special operations community members, published [a conspiracy theory](/source/2017_Las_Vegas_shooting_conspiracy_theories) that the [Islamic State](/source/Islamic_State) (IS) and [antifa](/source/Antifa_(United_States)) were involved in the [2017 Las Vegas shooting](/source/2017_Las_Vegas_shooting).<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/11/16/conspiracy-theory-las-vegas-shooting-dangerous-222576/|title= Anatomy of a Conspiracy Theory |first=Keith|last=Kloor|work=Politico|date=November 16, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newsweek.com/trump-isis-antifa-las-vegas-shooting-1220053|title=Former Trump Official Pushes Conspiracy Theory that ISIS and Antifa Were Involved in Las Vegas Shooting|first=Jessica|last=Kwong|work=Newsweek|date=November 16, 2018}}</ref>

Higgins co-authored the book ''Re-Remembering the Mis-Remembered Left: The Left's Strategy and Tactics To Transform America'' with [Stephen Coughlin](/source/Stephen_Coughlin) in 2019.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CkX0yAEACAAJ|title=Re-Remembering the Mis-Remembered Left: The Left's Strategy and Tactics To Transform America|first1=Stephen|last1=Coughlin|first2=Richard|last2=Higgins|year=2019|publisher=Eagle Tavern|isbn=978-1733473101}}</ref>

In 2020, the White House reportedly attempted to push the Department of Defense to hire Higgins under its nominee for the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy at the Pentagon, [Anthony Tata](/source/Anthony_Tata).<ref>{{cite news|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2020/07/20/politics/rich-higgins-conspiracy-theorist-kfile/index.html|title=The White House is pushing a conspiracy theorist fired from the NSC for a top Pentagon position|work=CNN|date=July 20, 2020|first1=Em|last1=Steck|first2=Andrew|last2=Kaczynski|first3=Nathan|last3=McDermott|first4=Zachary|last4=Cohen}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/07/02/white-house-pentagon-trump-esper-directed-hiring-of-conspiracy-theorist-over-pentagon-objections-richard-higgins-national-security-council-flynn-rich-higgins/|title=White House Directed Hiring of Conspiracy Theorist Over Pentagon Objections|first1=Jack|last1=Detsch|first2=Robble|last2=Gramer|work=Foreign Policy|date=July 2, 2020}}</ref>

Higgins died on February 23, 2022. He left behind his wife and four children.<ref name="bostonglobe">{{cite news|url=https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/bostonglobe/name/richard-higgins-obituary?id=33945232|title=Richard Higgins: 1974 - 2022|work=The Boston Globe|accessdate=February 8, 2024}}</ref>

==Bibliography==
*{{cite book|title=The Memo: Twenty Years Inside the Deep State Fighting for America First|year=2020|publisher=Calamo|isbn=978-0999705933}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://unconstrainedanalytics.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Political-Warfare.pdf POTUS & Political Warfare], 2017 memo
*[https://unconstrainedanalytics.org/richard-higgins/ Rich Higgins] and [https://unconstrainedanalytics.org/remembering-rich-higgins/ Remembering Rich Higgins] at Unconstrained Analytics

{{DEFAULTSORT:Higgins, Richard}}
Category:1974 births
Category:2022 deaths
Category:American conspiracy theorists
Category:National Defense University alumni
Category:National Defense University faculty
Category:First Trump administration personnel
Category:Tufts University alumni
Category:United States Army soldiers
Category:United States Department of Defense officials
Category:United States National Security Council staffers

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Rich Higgins](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rich_Higgins) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rich_Higgins?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.