- Trooper’s estranged wife submitted screenshots of his bigoted messages targeting minorities and LGBTQ individuals.
- Trooper claims texts don’t reflect his current beliefs, but his lawyer’s statement is unconvincing.
- All police departments must purge officers with such hateful views, as they pose a danger to the public.
An Arkansas State Police trooper off the streets after a terrifying trove of racist, sexist, and anti-LGBTQ text messages surfaced during his contentious divorce and custody battle.
According to KATV, court filings reveal that former trooper Michael Austin Kennedy resigned from the Arkansas State Police in May after his estranged wife, Alana Delaney Kennedy, submitted dozens of screenshots of messages she says demonstrate his blantantly bigoted views. The texts, which became public as part of the couple’s divorce proceedings in Saline County, reportedly contained slurs and hateful remarks targeting Black people, Hispanics, Muslims, women, and LGBTQ individuals.
In her filing, the former Mrs. Kennedy accused former officer Kennedy of being a white supremacist and argued that his beliefs posed a danger to their two children. She is seeking sole custody, claiming she fears he would “poison the minds” of the children with his views and behavior. Court documents also state that the children allegedly fear their father because of his hateful rhetoric and erratic behavior.
Among the most disturbing allegations were claims that Kennedy sent his wife photographs of himself posing with detained Hispanic immigrants while working as a state trooper, allegedly referring to them as “trophies.” The filings also included messages in which he allegedly used racial slurs, railed against immigrants, and expressed support for extreme positions, including banning Muslims from the United States and repealing the 19th Amendment, which guarantees women the right to vote.
We would ask how people like this are able to become legally licensed to carry a badge and gun but we already know the answer…
The Arkansas State Police confirmed Kennedy resigned on May 15 after the allegations came to light. The agency reportedly reviewed his traffic stops and citations and said it found no evidence that the views expressed in the messages affected his official law-enforcement actions. Kennedy has not denied sending the messages. In a court response, his attorney said he “explicitly acknowledges” and “deeply regrets” the offensive language, arguing that the texts do not reflect his current beliefs and were sent before he underwent therapy and received spiritual counseling through his church. The most recent messages cited in the court filings reportedly dated to January 2025.
Therapy? Spiritual counseling?? GTFOHWTBS. Kennedy’s lawyers crafted an even more BS statement on his behalf.
“The Defendant (Kennedy) makes no excuse for those statements; they were entirely improper, do not reflect the Defendant’s values today and the Defendant is profoundly ashamed of them. However, context matters regarding the current litigation. These communications date back several months, well before this divorce case was ever contemplated or filed.”
How long ago he sent the messages couldn’t possibly be more irrelevant. He could have been the first person to ever send a text message back in the 80s, wouldn’t matter. Every police department in America needs to be purged of this type of trash.