Courtesy of Dakarai Larriett By Rayna Reid Rayford ·Updated February 4, 2026 /> Getting your Trinity Audio player ready…

“Don’t flush!”

This was the command that changed everything for Dakarai Larriett. Traversing regularly between Alabama and Michigan for work, on April 10, 2024, he was apprehended by the Michigan State Police. He alleges that he was subjected to seven sobriety tests, was the target of homophobic slurs, and taken in handcuffs to the hospital over the alleged infraction of running a red light. Despite testing negative for alcohol, he was then accused of trafficking drugs via ingestion and forced to use the restroom publicly in front of the booking officers, state troopers, and other inmates, while they shouted: “Don’t flush.”

This dehumanizing experience remains entrenched in Larriett’s mind and altered the course of his life. It became fuel for mounting a political campaign in his home state of Alabama for the U.S. Senate, and if elected, Larriett would be the first openly gay Black man to serve in the upper house. The first-time candidate is seeking the Democratic nomination and sat down with ESSENCE to discuss his campaign, the wrongful arrest and treatment that inspired it,