Rep. Mike Collins denounces discrimination after receiving backlash on Ole Miss video

WASHINGTON — Rep. Mike Collins, R-Ga., in a new statement condemned discrimination after receiving backlash for sharing a video that showed counterprotesters at the University of Misssippi taunting a Black pro-Palestinian demonstrator.

The clip that Collins shared last week on X, formerly Twitter, shows a group of white men standing across from the demonstrator and jeering at her - with one making apelike movements and sounds. Collins wrote in his caption, “Ole Miss taking care of business.”

In his latest statement though, Collins wrote that while he believes in the First Amendment right to free speech and peaceful assembly, he doesn’t tolerate “any form of discrimination - racism or otherwise.”

“I understand and respect the feedback that’s been shared regarding a single individual during the Ole Miss protests,” Collins wrote. “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.”

He added that, “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.”

Collins did, however, praise the students standing up against the demonstrators, who he called “pro-Hamas, anti-American, Antifa anarchists” in his statement.

The NAACP has called on the House Ethics Committee to initiate an investigation into Collins for his response to the University of Mississippi video, arguing that his “seeming endorsement” of the actions in the clip are disappointing.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre also weighed in on the video, saying Tuesday in a press briefing that the behavior captured "is undignified and it's just racist, period."

“It is insulting to anyone who has to view it, whoever they are. It is saddening. It’s incredibly saddening. We are so much better than that. We are. And we owe it to one another to act like it," she added.

Jean-Pierre called it “beneath any elected official or leader to be sharing that kind of material” when asked specifically about Collins. “What we saw in that video is certainly – it’s sickening.”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Rep. Mike Collins addresses criticism of Ole Miss video