[usafsk]

From English common law we inherited the concepts of assault and battery. Assault traditonally involved only words, not deeds. Today, there is variety among the states on what assault constitutes. Regardless, in any state Franken's actions would clearly equal battery. There is actually no right to personally remove someone physically who is disrupting an event verbally, unless there is some written contract that admitted the individual (a ticket to a baseball game for example). If you hold an open event and someone disrupts it, you are expected to call the police and they can be charged with tresspassing and disorderly conduct, or the local equivalent.

Usually, however, such dopes are just dragged out and the cops - rightfully, in my opinion - look the other way. Regardless, Frankens is a loser.

[usafsk]

Correction:

"constitutes assault" not "assault constitutes"

[CyberAnt]

I'm basing my assessment on Oregon law at the time I lived there. It may have changed.