Republican Walks Back Praise of Student Protesters

A U.S. congressman is partially changing his tune after originally expressing support for a group of college students pushing back against pro-Palestinian protesters, including one who engaged in actions described by viewers as racist.

Georgia Representative Mike Collins, a Republican, issued a statement on Monday afternoon clarifying his views after a video seen over 20 million times on X appeared to show a white student making monkey noises at a Black student during a protest against Israel last week at the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) last week.

The student in question, who was later kicked out of his fraternity, appeared to heckle and make monkey noises and gestures toward a Black protester. Collins reposted the video on May 3 on his X page, with the caption: "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. "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."

He goes on to mention receiving more information and feedback about the incident at Ole Miss, saying that if the white student in question improperly treated someone based on race, he "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 seek to glorify," he added.

Newsweek reached out to Collins via email for further comment.

Video taken Friday at the scene on campus showed animosity between protesters and counterprotesters, some of the latter of whom carried flags in support of Donald Trump while yelling "F*** Joe Biden" and "Who's your daddy".

A Black woman part of the pro-Palestinian demonstration can be seen engaging with counterprotesters and vice versa.

The male in question, whose identity has not been revealed, had his fraternity membership revoked on Friday.

"Phi Delta Theta General Headquarters is aware of the video regarding the student protest at the University of Mississippi," said the fraternity 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."

In a previous statement to Newsweek, a spokesperson for Ole Miss declined to comment on the video of the confrontation, but said, "Statements were made at the demonstration on our campus Thursday that were offensive and inappropriate. Any actions that violate university policy will be met with appropriate action."

This is the latest in a wide series of events from coast to coast, with countless students and some faculty members among others showing solidarity for Palestinians as the reported civilian death toll continues to rise.

The number of Americans who think Israel should be provided less military aid from the U.S. has increased, according to a Redfield & Wilton Strategies survey of 1,500 eligible voters, conducted exclusively for Newsweek on May 1. About 36 percent of respondents now endorse decreased aid, up 9 percentage points since March.

The potential of Israeli forces warning of a more aggressive military campaign in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, has led to Hamas saying on Monday that it has agreed to a ceasefire proposal mediated by Qatar and Egypt.