Pro-Palestine protests at the University of Mississippi on Thursday were overshadowed by counterprotests.
In a video shared to social media by Republican Gov. Tate Reeves and originally posted by Red Cup Ole Miss, a large group of students broke out in the American national anthem in response to calls for President Biden to change his approach to the war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas.
“The ‘protests’ at Ole Miss today. Watch with sound,” Reeves wrote alongside the video. “Warms my heart. I love Mississippi.”
The ‘protests’ at Ole Miss today. Watch with sound.
Warms my heart.
I love Mississippi!
— Governor Tate Reeves (@tatereeves) May 2, 2024
Prior to the scheduled protest, Reeves deployed local and state law enforcement to campus not to shut down the event but to ensure violence did not erupt like at other schools such as Columbia and UCLA.
While there were reports of counter-protesters making offensive remarks such as “at least it’s not a plane this time” at pro-Palestine students – comparing the Hamas’ attack on Israel to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the U.S. carried out by Al-Qaeda – the university confirmed that there were no instances of physical violence as the protest safely ended.
“As a public institution, the University of Mississippi is committed to supporting the rights of our students, faculty, and employees to express their views in a respectful manner and to assemble peacefully as enshrined in the First Amendment,” UM Director of News and Media Relations Jacob Batte said. “While today’s demonstration was passionate and several protesters and counter-protesters received warnings from law enforcement over their actions, there were no arrests, no reported injuries, and the demonstration ended peacefully.”
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