adminDave Portnoy was openly accosted while filming a “One Bite” pizza review in Starkville on November 7, when a man shouted an antisemitic slur and reportedly hurled coins in Portnoy’s direction, creating a public disturbance that was captured on video. The incident quickly went viral and prompted a Starkville police investigation as footage circulated across social media. Law enforcement treated the behavior as more than mere words because the assaultive actions disrupted the peace and endangered public order.
Starkville police later identified the suspect as 20-year-old Patrick McClintock, a Mississippi State University student who has since withdrawn from the school and was arrested on a misdemeanor charge of disturbing the peace with bond reportedly set at $2,500. Local outlets and police releases confirm the timeline: the encounter happened during Portnoy’s review outside Boardtown Pizza & Pints, a warrant was issued, and the suspect was processed and released after arrest. This was not a casual spat — it was an incident that crossed the line from speech into criminal behavior.
The Starkville Police Department made the correct legal distinction: offensive words alone are generally protected, but when speech is paired with threatening or disruptive conduct it can justify police action and charges. Authorities even noted the possibility of enhanced penalties if the offense is found to be bias-motivated, underscoring that law enforcement has tools to address behavior that tips into criminality. Conservatives ought to applaud clarity from law enforcement that protects both free speech and public safety.
Of course, the predictable chorus online immediately tried to recast the arrest as a free-speech witch hunt or, perversely, to turn the story into a cudgel against the victim. That spin ignores the video evidence showing coins being thrown and a crowd reacting in disgust — facts that make this a disorderly-conduct matter, not an abstract “hate speech” prosecution. Honest reporting would note both the vile language and the physical conduct; lazy or partisan outlets amplified outrage while blurring that crucial legal line.
Mississippi State’s posture — the student’s voluntary withdrawal and the university media fallout — illustrates how campuses now scramble to perform virtue while dodging deeper responsibility for undergraduate behavior. Accountability matters, but so does due process; universities should not reflexively kneel to social media pressure, nor should they tolerate campus cultures that incubate bile and intimidation. The right answer is enforcement and decent standards, not performative gestures that let bad behavior fester.
This episode should unite conservatives and all decent Americans against both antisemitism and the breakdown of public order. We defend the First Amendment fiercely, but we also insist that speech paired with assaultive acts — throwing objects at someone, inciting a mob, or threatening violence — receives the full force of the law. Dave Portnoy’s warning that antisemitic incidents are becoming more common is a wake-up call; patriotic citizens and law enforcement must stand firm against hate while protecting the liberties that make our country exceptional.
