He wanted to burn the flag in the name of “due process for students and suspected terrorists alike,” but either he thought better of it or, per the second clip below, he couldn’t get a safety permit from the school. So he came out to make a statement instead — and a huge crowd came out to shout him down. At first it’s simply chants of “USA,” but then it turns more aggressive; before long this guy’s being hit with water balloons, to laughs and cheers from the crowd, and by 2:42 the cops are sufficiently worried about the vibe that they have to pull him out of there for his own safety. You can see the fear in his face, too. It’s really unpleasant to watch. Why this is considered a free-speech triumph by some of the people who sent us the link, I have no idea. It’s the heckler’s veto in action. Had the shoe been on the other foot politically — and it has been, as the boss emeritus can attest from attempts to intimidate her during her public speaking engagements — it would be the blogospheric scandal du jour.

Two clips, one from the protest and the second of LSU’s student body president, who makes a point of saying that he regrets that things were thrown at the protester.