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mike collins
'Racist POS' Mike Collins Cheers Video of Ole Miss Mob Attack on Black Student
"This is not about Israel, Palestine, or Gaza. This is old-fashioned American racism and misogyny," said one observer. "These are the types of young white men who will grow up to be Republican governors, senators, and members of Congress."
May 03, 2024
Republican Georgia Congressman Mike Collins came under fire Friday over a social media post applauding video of white University of Mississippi students racially abusing a Black woman participating in a campus protest for Palestine.
Collins posted the video—in which numerous people can be heard grunting like apes and one young man is seen jumping up and down like a monkey in front of the Black woman—with the caption, "Ole Miss taking care of business."
Collins—or whoever's in charge of his social media accounts—sparred with Black leaders who called out his racism. When former Democratic Ohio state senator Nina Turner said the video showed "anti-Blackness," the congressman shot back, "*Anti-terroristness."
When Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) accused Collins of "fueling white supremacy," the Republican retorted, "Don't take down any more signs at our workplace, please" along with a photo of the Democrat triggering a fire alarm in a House of Representatives office building last year.
Around 30 protesters were rallying in support of Palestine in the Ole Miss Quad when counter-protesters gathered near the demonstrators. Some booed and chanted, "We want Trump!" Others singled out the Black woman—who NBC Newssaid is a graduate student at the school—chanting "Lizzo, Lizzo, Lizzo," "take a shower," "your nose is huge," "fuck you, fat bitch," and "lock her up!"
The counter-protesters also sang the "Star-Spangled Banner." Republican Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves shared a separate video of the singing students on social media, captioning his post, "Warms my heart" and "I love Mississippi."
No racist language can be heard in the video shared by Reeves.
The Daily Mississippianreports the demonstrators were escorted off the Quad after counter-protesters threw water bottles at them.
Collins is no stranger to accusations of racism. Earlier this year, he suggested murdering migrants by throwing them from helicopters into the sea, in the manner of U.S.-backed South American dictators in the 1970s.
He also
introduced the Restricting Administration Zealots from Obliging Raiders (RAZOR) Act, which would ban the federal government from removing or altering "any state-constructed barriers installed to mitigate illegal immigration," such as the razor buoys installed in the Rio Grande by Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.
Collins was also
accused of antisemitism after he amplified a social media post by an avowed neo-Nazi targeting a Washington Post reporter for being Jewish.
Ole Miss said Friday that "statements were made at the demonstration on our campus Thursday that were offensive and inappropriate."
"We cannot comment specifically about that video, but the university is looking into reports about specific actions," the school added. "Any actions that violate university policy will be met with appropriate action."
The Ole Miss incident comes amid rapidly spreading campus protests across the U.S. and around the world in response to Israel's genocidal assault on Gaza, which has killed, maimed, or left missing around 5% of the embattled strip's 2.3 million people, most of them civilians, while forcibly displacing nearly 9 in 10 people and driving hundreds of thousands to the brink of starvation.
While numerous Ole Miss students said they did not understand what the pro-Palestine protesters hoped to accomplish, others voiced support for the demonstrators—and for Palestine.
"As we've seen throughout history, time and time again, the student movement is never wrong. Time and time again, anytime there's a student protest, and you're against it, you're on the wrong side of history," Xavier Black, a junior majoring in international studies, told
The Daily Mississippian. "So I would like to be on the right side."
One Palestinian American Ole Miss student was teary-eyed as she thanked the protesters.
"Hey guys, I know that what just happened was really intimidating, and it was a little scary, but I just want to say I'm so proud of you guys," the student—who gave only her first name, Jana—said,
according toMississippi Today. "This wasn't going to happen... without all of you guys. Palestine was being heard. And I just want to thank you guys so much."
"I know that was such a big risk, but this is the most that people have ever thought for us, so don't give up," she added. "I know that was really hard, but we need to keep fighting. This was just the start of it, okay?"
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GOP Congressman Suggests 'Pinochet Air' Death Flights for Migrants
"We wonder why the right-wingers aren't freaking out about Trump's dictator talk but we shouldn't," said one local Democratic leader in Georgia.
Feb 02, 2024
A Republican congressman from Georgia on Thursday suggested a novel way to stem the influx of migrants at the southern border: throw them from helicopters into the sea.
Responding to a photo showing a migrant flipping off the camera following his release without bail from a New York City court, Rep. Mike Collins took to social media to reply to a post by Rep. Anthony D'Esposito (R-N.Y.) advising the young man to "holla at the cartels and have them escort you back."
"Or we could buy him a ticket on Pinochet Air for a free helicopter ride back," Collins suggested. He was referring to former U.S.-backed Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, whose regime was known to "disappear" critics by throwing them from helicopters into the Pacific Ocean and other waterways while they were still alive in what became known as "death flights."
As Christopher Mathias—a senior HuffPost reporter who covers the far-right—noted, Collins "is parroting a meme that's been popular among white supremacists and neofascists like the Proud Boys."
After Collins' post was removed from X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, the congressman appealed directly to owner Elon Musk, saying that "he's apparently got a few more folks to fire," a reference to the site's purge of content moderators following its purchase by the multibillionaire.
Collins' post was restored with a notice that although it "violated the X rules," the site determined that "it may be in the public's interest" for it to remain accessible.
On right-wing sites including Daily Caller, commenters overwhelmingly voiced support for Collins' suggestion—although one reader found helicopter flights to be a "waste of time," preferring to "just shoot them at the border."
Pete Fuller, the Democratic Party chair in Jackson County, Georgia—which is part of Collins' district—tied the congressman's remarks to those of former President Donald Trump, the Republican front-runner for the November election.
"We wonder why the right-wingers aren't freaking out about Trump's dictator talk but we shouldn't," Fuller said. "The hard right would love Trump taking over dictatorial powers and to start disappearing the people that are inconvenient to them."
Trump infamously suggested shooting migrants and stocking the Rio Grande with alligators, a proposal that resurfaced this week when Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) attempted to breathe life into her floundering reelection campaign by affirming she would co-sponsor legislation authorizing an alligator moat.
Collins is a more serious supporter of deadly obstacles in the Rio Grande. Responding to a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling affirming the Biden administration's order for federal border authorities to cut down razor wire installed by Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, the Georgia lawmaker said he will introduce the Restricting Administration Zealots from Obliging Raiders (RAZOR) Act. His bill would ban the federal government from removing or altering "any state-constructed barriers installed to mitigate illegal immigration."
The Supreme Court ruling followed a U.S. Justice Department lawsuit over Texas' razor wire-topped buoy barriers in the Rio Grande, in which numerous migrants have drowned while trying to cross into the United States. One migrant's body was found in the buoy barrier last year.
Meanwhile, U.S. President Joe Biden has come under fire from migrant rights advocates for expressing his willingness to "shut down the border" in exchange for a deal with Republican lawmakers that would continue U.S. funding for Ukraine's defense against Russian invasion.
Critics have warned that such a bargain would cost migrants lives and result in the evisceration of rights and protections for legal asylum-seekers and other immigrants.
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Biden Urged to Take 'Control of the Texas National Guard' as State Defies Supreme Court
Rep. Joaquin Castro, a Texas Democrat, accused Gov. Greg Abbott of "using the Texas National Guard to obstruct and create chaos at the border."
Jan 24, 2024
Texas officials are defying a Monday Supreme Court ruling prohibiting them from blocking the federal government from removing razor wire installed by the state along the U.S. border with Mexico, prompting calls for the Biden administration to respond.
The Texas National Guard is barring the federal government from entering an area in Eagle Pass where it has installed the wire, as
CBS' Camilo Montoya-Galvez reported Tuesday.
"The Texas National Guard continues to hold the line in Eagle Pass," Gov. Greg Abbott posted on social media on Tuesday. "Texas will not back down from our efforts to secure the border in Biden's absence."
In response, Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas) said that Abbott was "using the Texas National Guard to obstruct and create chaos at the border."
"If Abbott is defying yesterday's Supreme Court ruling, the president of the U.S. needs to establish sole federal control of the Texas National Guard now," Castro
wrote on social media.
Fellow Texas Democrat Greg Casar also criticized Abbott, posting on Tuesday that his "latest stunt after yesterday's Supreme Court order is malicious, unconstitutional, and against Texas values."
"Our country needs Congress to create a safer, humane, and more orderly immigration system—not razor wire to cut innocent people or laws that attack families," Casar said.
Montoya-Galvez shared video footage on social media of the Texas National Guard installing more razor wire at Eagle Pass' Shelby Park, which he described as "an area the Texas National Guard has heavily fortified with razor and concertina wire, fencing, armored vehicles, and soldiers."
The area has emerged as a site of conflict between Texas and the U.S. government over control of the border. Texas sued the federal government in 2023 for cutting razor wire it had put up, arguing that this destroyed state property and harmed Texas' security, as CNN explained. In December, an appeals court ruled that federal border agents could not continue to cut wire while the court case proceeded, and the Justice Department asked the Supreme Court to overturn that decision, prompting Monday's ruling.
The stakes of the stand-off were made tragically clear this month when a woman and two children drowned along the border after members of the Texas National Guard blocked U.S. Border Patrol agents from offering assistance.
On Tuesday, the Department of Homeland Security wrote to Texas demanding "full access" to the border by January 26, according to CNN. While Texas claims Shelby Park is open to the public, the federal government said it has not been able to enter.
"Republicans are defying the Supreme Court. Because they don't believe in our democracy anymore. They are dangerous and must be defeated."
A law enforcement source told CNN that U.S. Customs and Border Protection now had permission to remove the wire despite the ongoing court case.
"This goes far beyond 'reserving the right,'" the source said. "The U.S. Supreme Court has ordered it."
Despite this, Texas officials have remained adamant about controlling the border themselves.
"The Texas Military Department continues to hold the line in Shelby Park to deter and prevent unlawful entry into the state of Texas," the department, which includes the state's national guard, wrote in a statement Tuesday. "We remain resolute in our actions to secure our border, preserve the rule of law, and protect the sovereignty of our state."
Department of Public Safety spokesperson Lieutenant Chris Olivarez also wrote on social media on Monday that Texas would "continue to hold the line."
"The state of Texas, under Gov. Abbott's Operation Lone Star, will maintain its current posture in deterring illegal border crossings by utilizing effective border security measures—reinforced concertina wire and anti-climb barriers along the Rio Grande," Olivarez wrote.
"The logical concern should be why the federal government continues to hinder Texas' ability to protect its border, all while allowing for the exploitation, dangerous, and inhumane methods of permitting illegal immigrants, including children, to illegally cross a dangerous river where many have lost their lives," Olivarez continued. "Texas is the only state using every strategy and resource to protect its sovereignty, combat criminal activity, and discourage illegal immigration."
Republican lawmakers have also backed the state's position.
Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) called the Supreme Court decision "unconscionable" on social media and argued that Texas should ignore it, both in his post and in an interview with Fox News on Tuesday.
"If someone's breaking into your house, and the court says, 'Oh, sorry. You can't defend yourself.' What do you tell the court?" Roy said. "You tell the court to go to hell, you defend yourself, and then figure it out later."
Rep. Mike Collins (R-Ga.) introduced the Restricting Administration Zealots from Obliging Raiders (RAZOR) Act on Wednesday that would prohibit the federal government from removing or tampering with any state border barriers.
"With the Supreme Court siding with the America Last policies of the Biden administration, Congress must stand with Governor Greg Abbott as he fights for the sovereignty of his state and our nation," Collins said.
Meanwhile, journalists criticized the state of Texas for disregarding federal law.
"Republicans are defying the Supreme Court. Because they don't believe in our democracy anymore. They are dangerous and must be defeated," former Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times editor Mark Jacob wrote on social media.
Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Will Bunch called for federal action.
"It's time for Biden to federalize the Texas National Guard and maybe send in the 101st Airborne like Little Rock," Bunch wrote on social media. "This nonsense needs to stop."
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