Mississippi State University “Journalism Ethics” instructor Ryan Phillips compared a Young America’s Foundation (YAF) tabling event to a KKK rally Wednesday on Twitter.

Phillips, who is also the executive editor of Mississippi’s Starkville Daily News, wrote in a tweet, “Hey, the White Male Student Caucus holding a gathering. Hoods and burning crosses optional.”

Hey the White Male Student Caucus holding a gathering. Hoods and burning crosses optional ???? https://t.co/93d58A1dGD — Ryan Phillips (@JournoRyan) March 20, 2019

The goal of the YAF event, according to YAF spokesperson Spencer Brown, was “to drive discussion on border security and President Trump’s proposal for a border wall to stem the flow of illegal immigrants.” (RELATED: UC Berkeley Coughs Up $70,000 In Settlement Over Policies Affecting Conservative Speakers On Campus)

The founding chairman of Mississippi State’s YAF chapter, Jesse Watkins, confronted Phillips for his comment on Twitter, saying, “You made an ignorant judgment without speaking with a single representative for the group, in fact not 1 single member said they were against LEGAL immigration, and you decided to slander us without any concern for truth.”

You made an ignorant judgement without speaking with a single representative for the group, in fact not 1 single member said they were against LEGAL immigration, and you decided to slander us without any concern for truth. — Jesse Watkins (@InfamousJesseW) March 21, 2019

Phillips responded by doubling down on his characterization of the conservative student group, calling YAF’s politics “toxic.”

“Nah, I think your organization’s historical track record of supporting Dixiecrats, segregationists and being cozy with Strom Thurmond & Jeff Sessions (now Trump) gives me some idea,” he wrote. “I don’t agree with your toxic brand of politics and I’ll exercise my right to speak against it.”

Nah I think your organization’s historical track record of supporting Dixiecrats, segregationists and being cozy with Strom Thurmond & Jeff Sessions (now Trump) gives me some idea. I don’t agree with your toxic brand of politics and I’ll exercise my right to speak against it. — Ryan Phillips (@JournoRyan) March 21, 2019

After the two exchange more dialogue over the social media platform, Spencer Brown tweeted that Phillips has locked his own Twitter account as of Tuesday. In Brown’s tweet, he praised Mississippi State for issuing a statement to the Daily Wire where they referred to Phillips’ tweets as “highly inappropriate, inflammatory and patently unfair and intolerant.”