A college student allegedly shouted “F*** the Jews” and threw coins at Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy outside a pizzeria in Starkville, Mississippi, on Friday. The outburst occurred while Portnoy was filming a “One Bite” pizza review.
According to The New York Post, Patrick McClintock, 20, a mechanical engineering student at Mississippi State University, was arrested and charged with disturbing the peace on Monday. He withdrew from the university the same day.
In a video circulating on X, the man can be heard making the antisemitic remark. Members of the crowd immediately condemn the slur as Portnoy turns toward the heckler and says, “Why don’t you come in the camera, buddy?”
The same slur was directed at Portnoy during a pizza review in Toronto, Canada, in June. The remark can be heard around the three-minute mark in the video below.
During an interview with CBS News that aired on Sunday, Portnoy told anchor Tony Dokoupil that he encounters antisemitic attacks “every day” and said it wasn’t always this way.
I’ve seen in my own experience, just being Barstool, the difference between how much hate I get. I never got — I mean, occasionally you get ‘Hey k**e’ or ‘Jew’ or whatever.[But] It’s every day now. There’s a definitive shift in what’s going on.This is not normal ‘haha’ with the guys. People are coming in with real hate.
While McClintock’s words were reprehensible, few X users came to Portnoy’s defense. Instead, much of the online debate over the incident has focused on his arrest.
The following X posts are representative of the conversation that ensued on social media.
Attaching one of Charlie Kirk’s posts in which he defends hate speech noting that “ALL of it is protected by the First Amendment,” one X user asks, “do you think having Americans arrested for using their first amendment rights (yes that includes offensive speech) helps or hurts your cause?”
It’s worth noting that if any one of us hurled a similar slur at a Muslim or a black individual, the backlash would be swift and severe.
But McClintock wasn’t charged with hate speech; he was charged with disturbing the peace.
Under Mississippi law, “disturbing the peace” includes using profane or offensive language or loud conduct likely to cause a breach of the peace (Miss. Code § 97-35-7). According to Cornell Law School’s Legal Information Institute, similar laws are meant to preserve public order rather than restrict speech.
McClintock disrupted a public event by using language that was both profane and offensive. His words were loud and it sure looked like he intended to interfere with a public event.
While critics argue that McClintock’s offense was minor, disturbing the peace is a minor charge. It’s a low-level criminal charge that is usually classified as a misdemeanor and is punishable by a fine, community service, or a short time in jail.
If people were allowed to disrupt public events (as McClintock clearly did) with impunity, civil society would eventually begin to unravel. While I realize that liberals have a long history of defending protesters — even when they cross the line into criminal behavior, rules of conduct exist not to suppress free expression but to preserve the conditions that make it possible — mutual respect, order, and accountability.
Elizabeth writes commentary for Legal Insurrection and The Washington Examiner. She is an academy fellow at The Heritage Foundation. Please follow Elizabeth on X or LinkedIn.
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