‘Straight-Up Racism’: RNC Faces Backlash for Editing Out White Frat Bros Who Harassed and Made Monkey Gestures at Black Female Grad Student During Protest

The viral video from May of a white Ole Miss student making racist monkey noises and gestures at a Black woman suddenly resurfaced, and the venue might be surprising. The Republican National Convention in Milwaukee played an edited clip on July 17 to applaud “anti-woke” college students — and Republicans are on blast as outrage grows.

The harassment happened earlier this year during a Gaza solidarity demonstration on the University of Mississippi campus. The incident was caught on video by the Mississippi Free Press and spread like wildfire online.

A white counter-protestor, James “JP” Staples, can be seen jumping up and down and making monkey sounds toward Jaylin R. Smith, a graduate student who was live-streaming the protest on her phone.

Staples’ fraternity, Phi Delta Theta, condemned his actions and booted him out along with two other culprits. Their official statement read: “The individual’s behavior was unacceptable. The action in question was offensive, outside the bounds of this discourse, and contradictory to our values.”

Apparently, it is not outside the bounds of the RNC. The clip was part of a video montage that the Donald Trump presidential campaign used in a campaign ad in May and then trotted out again for the RNC.

In the video, you can hear Newsmax co-host Bob Brooks add insult to injury with commentary played over the part where Jaylin Smith is bravely facing a crowd of mostly white men yelling in her face. As a man wearing American flag overalls aggressively approaches her, Brooks is heard saying, “Giving us some hope there that not all college students have gone woke.”

However, Trump’s clip is different than the original viral video. In an attempt to put a spin on the facts, the offender who made the monkey gestures has been entirely edited out.

“Amazing how even the RNC knew enough to edit out the Ole Miss frat boy who was making monkey sounds at the African American woman. I guess they didn’t want to show what the opposite of woke really looks like,” noted one X user .

The RNC is getting slammed right and left for platforming the video, including from Biden’s camp. His spokesperson, Sarafina Chitika, called out Trump’s empty promise of “unity” in an official statement, “Donald Trump promised unity at his convention. Instead, he delivered bigotry, division, and straight-up racism that turned dog whistles into bullhorns.”

“The video elevated by Trump and his RNC is beneath the office of the President, and it’s proof that their empty pandering to voters of color is nothing more than lip service to paper over decades of racism,” she continued.

Democratic strategist Laura Chapin wrote on X , “For those playing the home game, the RNC tonight has featured ‘Mass Deportation Now!’ signs and video of a white frat boy taunting a Black woman at Ole Miss. Will there be a cross burning to wrap things up?”

Another strategist, Antjuan Seawright, noted the video showed how Republicans “really feel about us.” He continued, “It really speaks loudly about what they really think & feel about us. In other words, they’re saying the quiet part out loud.”

As for the woman who remained so calm in the face of harassment, she recently received her master’s degree, according to her Instagram :

“I MASTERED the University of Mississippi. As a first generation college student, I share this celebration with familial lineages before me that paved the way for my inevitable success,” her caption read.

“I am truly my ancestors’ wildest dreams. I walk this stage knowing that I left this institution better than I found it … I am proud to be a product of this institution through the good, the bad, and the in between.”

‘Straight-Up Racism’: RNC Faces Backlash for Editing Out White Frat Bros Who Harassed and Made Monkey Gestures at Black Female Grad Student During Protest