Mizzou prof. avoids jail time with community service deal
University of Missouri (Mizzou) professor Melissa Click will perform 20 hours of court-ordered community service in exchange for a dropped assault charge, according to a statement released Friday evening.
In November, Click was caught on video threatening a reporter who requested an interview with her during an on-campus protest at Mizzou. Click immediately turned down the reporter’s request for comment and told him he needed to leave the protest. The reporter stood his ground, causing Click to call out for “muscle” to help forcibly remove him from the protest. The video shows Click apparently swinging at the reporter’s camera, leading some to believe she assaulted a student.
[RELATED: Mizzou professor involved in protests charged with assault, will keep job]
Earlier this year, over 100 Missouri lawmakers sent a letter to the Board of Curators at Mizzou demanding Click be fired.
[RELATED: Lawmakers call for firing of Mizzou prof involved in student protests]
Click was officially suspended from the university earlier this week just days after Columbia Prosecutor Stephen Richey filed an assault charge against her. Click, who was charged with a Class C misdemeanor, faced a potential 15 days in jail.
[RELATED: Professor who called for ‘muscle’ suspended by Mizzou]
On Friday, Richey released a statement that said Click will be required to perform 20 hours of community service and in return local prosecutors will drop the assault charge. If Click completes her service and stays out of trouble for a year, the charge will be dropped.
“Based on the facts of this case, I believe this disposition to be appropriate,” Richey said. “This disposition is in keeping with my office’s handling of dozens of similar Municipal cases and adequately serves the interest of justice by ensuring the defendant will not engage in similar conduct.”
The student activist group known as “Concerned Student 1950” responsible for ousting former Mizzou president Tim Wolfe from his post came to the defense of Click, calling her a “victim of social and political violence.”
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