Pro-Palestinian demonstrations at the University of Mississippi were overrun by counter-protesters on Thursday, resulting in a viral clip of white students insulting a black student. The video was shared online and applauded by a Republican lawmaker.
“Ole Miss taking care of business,” Rep. Mike Collins (R-Ga.) posted on social media platform X.
The video received harsh criticism for the racist actions of the students. Collins was also criticized for endorsing the racist actions in the video.
The Hill reached out to Collins’ team, asking for an explanation of what he meant when he posted the video.
In the clip, a white male student appears to make monkey noises and gestures toward a black female graduate student.
The woman, alone and filming, was being escorted backwards by police as a crowd of white students cheered, screamed and shook her. The camera turns to the man imitating a monkey’s howl and jumping up and down.
“The students called for an end to the genocide. They were met with racism,” James M. Thomas, professor of sociology at the university posted on X.
Other videos posted online show a larger crowd, around 200 people, surrounding protesters and chanting. Counter-protesters sang “The Star-Spangled Banner” to drown out the chants of pro-Palestine protesters, who called on Israel to “Stop Genocide” and for the US to stop supplying weapons in the war.
About 76 percent of the university’s students were white, and about 11 percent were black, during the 2022-23 academic year, according to The Associated Press.
University of Mississippi Chancellor Glenn Boyce said the school was aware that “some statements made were offensive, harmful and unacceptable, including actions that conveyed hostility and racist overtones.”
Boyce said the school opened a student conduct investigation against a student but was unable to identify who, in accordance with privacy laws. He said some individuals have acted in ways that conflict with university values.
“While we are a modern university with a vibrant community of more than 25,000 people, it is important to recognize our challenging history, and incidents like this can set us back,” he wrote in an email to the campus community. “It’s one of the reasons we don’t take this lightly and cannot allow the unacceptable behavior of some to speak for our institution or define us.”
Republican Governor Tate Reeves also posted a video of the protest, saying it warms his heart and that he loves Mississippi.
The counterprotesters, seen holding a Trump 2024 flag, were also praised by former President Trump, who released a campaign ad that highlighted a clip from the protest in Mississippi. The ad included clips from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where students also went viral for raising the American flag after protesters tried to take it down.
Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
