Republican Rep. Collins responds to criticism of Ole Miss post

Rep. Mike Collins (R-Ga.) defended his decision to share a video of counterprotesters at the University of Mississippi harassing a Black woman at a pro-Palestine protest last week, responding to criticism that he was endorsing racist conduct.

Collins shared a video last week of a group of white men standing in front of a lone black woman participating in the protest, with the men dancing, booing and chanting. A man imitated a monkey.

Ole Miss opened a conduct investigation Saturday into the incident, with Chancellor Glenn Boyce saying the counterprotesters’ chants and actions Thursday contained “hostility and racist overtones.”

“I understand and respect the feedback that was shared about a single individual during the Ole Miss protests,” Collins wrote in a statement. declaration Monday. “If this person is found to have treated another human being inappropriately because of their race, they should be punished appropriately and will hopefully seek forgiveness.”

“Frankly, I didn’t believe that was the focal point of the video shared at the time, but I recognize that there certainly appears to be some potentially inappropriate behavior that none of us should see to glorify,” he continued.

The NAACP demanded that the House Ethics Committee begin an investigation into Collins following Saturday’s post.

“Black America refuses to accept blatant racism from any representative who is sworn to defend our Constitution,” NAACP spokeswoman Alicia Mercedes said in a statement to The Hill. “Rep. Collins’ decision to publicly tolerate and perhaps even celebrate these racist taunts is not only shameful, but also reprehensible.”

In his Monday statement, Collins doubled down on his opposition to the widespread protests on campus, calling the students “pro-Hamas, anti-American, Antifa anarchists.”

Pro-Palestinian protesters at Ole Miss have been significantly outnumbered by counterprotesters as campus demonstrations have spread to hundreds of colleges across the country in recent weeks.

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