A 20-year-old man named Patrick McClintock was charged with disturbing the peace after he made antisemitic comments towards Dave Portnoy while the Barstool Sports founder was filming a pizza review at Mississippi State University.
The Starkville Police Department confirmed on Tuesday, November 11 that a video of the confrontation showed the suspect throwing coins at Portnoy, 48, and making offensive comments, according to NBC News.
In light of the evidence, police said that a hate crime enhancement was under review.
“The State of Mississippi allows courts to impose enhanced penalties if a violation meets the criteria for bias-motivated or discriminatory reasons,” the department said in a statement, per the outlet. “This remains under investigation.”
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McClintock was charged, processed and released on Monday, November 10, according to the police. It is not currently clear if he has legal representation for the case as of time of publication.
Portnoy was in Starkville, Mississippi, on November 7 to attend a Mississippi State football game, while he was also filming one of his famous pizza review videos in the college town. As he filmed the video, Portnoy was approached by the suspect.
“Hey, f–k the Jews. F— you, Dave Portnoy,” the man was heard shouting in the video. “F–k you. Get out of Starkville.”
The video then showed the man attempting to confront Portnoy outside Boardtown Pizza & Pints in Starkville. However, another man blocked the suspect and he was forced to back away as other patrons defended Portnoy.
“There’s a–holes everywhere. What are you going to do?” Portnoy, who is Jewish, said in the clip following the confrontation.
Following the arrest, Mississippi State spokesperson Sid Salter said McClintock was a student at the school, per the outlet. However, he voluntarily withdrew from the school within hours of police issuing his arrest warrant.
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“What happened on video didn’t reflect the culture and values of the university,” Salter said.
Also in the video, Portnoy reflected on an increase of antisemetic remarks and blamed online rhetoric for the rise of similar incidents. Portnoy said he believes McClintock “hates” his life and that he made the comments in an attempt to take out his anger. “And what’s an easy answer? Oh, it’s the Jews’ fault,” Portnoy said.
Mississippi doesn’t currently have a specific hate crime law. However, the state allows prosecutors to add a hate-crime enhancement when it is believed that a crime was motivated by racial, religious or ethnic hatred, according to the UCLA School of Law website. The enhancement can be used to increase sentencing if the suspect is found guilty.
