GOP Rep. Mike Collins (R-Ga.) walked back his praise of counterprotesters at the University of Mississippi after facing backlash.
Collins issued a statement on Monday changing his tune after he posted a video last week showing counterprotesters mocking a Black pro-Palestinian protester with monkey noises. Collins captioned the video: “Ole Miss taking care of business.”
“Let me be very clear: I believe in the First Amendment right to free speech, peaceful assembly and expression,” Collins said in his statement Monday. “I do not, however, tolerate any form of discrimination—racism or otherwise. It’s the opposite of what my faith teaches and it’s not personally how I treat people.”
“I understand and respect the feedback that’s been shared regarding a single individual during the Ole Miss protests,” Collins continued. “If that person is found to have treated another human being improperly because of their race, they should be punished appropriately, and will hopefully seek forgiveness.”
“Frankly, I did not believe that to be the focal point of the video shared at the time, but I recognize that there certainly seems to be some potentially inappropriate behavior that none of us should see to glorify,” he added.
The student who was seen jumping up and down and making monkey noises has his fraternity membership revoked over the weekend.
“Phi Delta Theta General Headquarters is aware of the video regarding the student protest at the University of Mississippi,” the fraternity said in a statement. “The racist actions in the video were those of an individual and are antithetical to the values of Phi Delta Theta and the Mississippi Alpha chapter.”
On Friday, university Chancellor Glenn Boyce said that leaders are “aware that some statements made were offensive, hurtful, and unacceptable,” and that the institution has “opened one student conduct investigation,” and is working to determine whether more cases are warranted.
