Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA) was forced to walk back his praise for a group of pro-Israel counter protesters at Ole Miss who were caught on video jeering at a lone Black pro-Palestine demonstrator—including one fraternity member who made monkey noises at the woman while acting out crude primate mannerisms.
Collins, who helped make the clip go viral by sharing it Friday with the caption “Ole Miss taking care of business,” conceded in a statement Monday that the video included behavior that “none of us should seek to glorify.”
“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,” Collins wrote.
ADVERTISEMENT
The video was taken from a chaotic scene on the campus of the University of Mississippi, where a predominantly white group of college-aged men were spotted clashing with a Black, pro-Palestine protester.
Other clips preceding the apparent racist outburst showed the same group of counter-protesters chanting, “Lizzo, Lizzo,” and, “Fuck you, bitch,” at the woman, who countered by yelling, filming, and flicking off the crowd.
The NAACP identified the student behind the monkey chants over the weekend as James “JP” Staples. He was expelled from his fraternity, Phi Delta Theta, which condemned his actions over the weekend in a statement to The Daily Beast.
“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,” the national fraternity wrote in a statement. “The responsible individual was removed from membership.”
In a letter addressed to the campus community on Friday, Ole Miss Chancellor Glenn Boyce said the university was aware of behavior that was “offensive, hurtful and unacceptable, including actions that conveyed hostility and racist overtones.”
Collins tried to justify his actions by saying that he didn’t believe Staples’ questionable conduct was the “focal point” of the video and that he was instead praising students for going up against anti-Israel protesters on campus.
Despite seemingly changing his mind about the Ole Miss clip, Collins had not deleted his post glorifying the incident as of Monday afternoon.
