GOP lawmaker promotes video of Ole Miss student making monkey sounds at Black protester

Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA) on Friday drew instant criticism after he approvingly promoted a video showing white students at the University of Mississippi taunting a Black demonstrator — with at least one student making monkey noises at her.

The video in question was taken on Thursday during a pro-Palestinian demonstration on the Ole Miss campus.

As local news station WTVA reports, the pro-Palestinian demonstrators on campus were vastly outnumbered by counter-demonstrators, such as the ones shown in the video promoted by Collins.

According to WTVA, the protesters were eventually "escorted out to a bus and taken off campus," as counter-demonstrators threw "food and water bottles" at them.

The video posted by Collins shows a Black demonstrator walking towards a group of male students who were shouting at her.

One student then began hopping up and down and making monkey noises while other students looked on.

Toward the end of the video, other monkey-like chants can be heard, although it is not possible to identify from the footage who is making them.

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Despite this, Collins thought this behavior was worthy of congratulation.

"Ole Miss taking care of business," he wrote in a caption accompanying the video.

Many of Collins' followers were quick to criticize him for promoting what appeared to be flagrant racism.

"Congressman proud of the racism," commented journalist John Harwood.

"A sitting member of congress blatantly approving of students making monkey noises towards a black woman doing nothing but exercising her free speech," wrote Democratic Rhode Island State Rep. Enrique Sanchez.

"This is a sitting US congressman congratulating students at a state school for mocking a black woman as a monkey," marveled Daily Beast reporter Roger Sollenberger.

"In this case, 'taking care of business' means a bunch of trust fund babies mocking a Black woman with monkey noises," wrote Democratic strategist Sawyer Hackett. "This is a congressman."