Georgia congressman partly backtracks his praise of a campus conflict that included racist gestures

FILE - Mike Collins participates in a Republican primary debate for Georgia's 10th Congressional District, June 6, 2022, in Atlanta. Collins, who won a U.S. House seat in 2022, issued a statement Monday, May 6, 2024, saying that he stands by his admiration of college students who push back against those protesting the Israel-Hamas war, but he backtracked somewhat on his earlier praise of a counter-protest at the University of Mississippi that included a man appearing to make monkey noises and gestures at a Black woman. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, File)

A Georgia Republican congressman on Monday backtracked on some of his praise for a campus conflict that included a man who made monkey noises and gestures at a Black student who was protesting the Israel-Hamas war.

Rep. Mike Collins said he understands and respects feedback about one person during the protest at the University of Mississippi.

“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,” Collins wrote on the social media site X. “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.”