When I saw the video, I saw escalation from the vic;s side, and how I would vote on a jury.
“Fighting words” have meaning in law, but I am not a lawyer, so can not articulate the point.
If i call someone “penis breath” or worse in front of his family, I believe I have little recourse if I get popped in the mouth. Spit in his face at the same time guarantees it, but I guess that is assault.
Starting a fight is easy, holding civilization together takes work.
I see a “beer summit” coming soon. All joking aside, this isn’t going to go anywhere legally, but it is a good reminder to always know where you are and your surroundings. Certainly there has to be a better camera angle from another business? Those three guys in the front of the video, the one that touched the guy in red as he was running back, seem to have had a front row seat to some of what was going on. I wonder if we will hear from them?
You believe wrong. You have a rock solid civil suit for battery. There is NO justification for use of force, except in self defense against another's use of force.
"Fighting words" do NOT justify the use of force by your opponent, that's how the law reads. However, if you accompany your "fighting words" with a gesture that is reasonably taken as impending use of force, your opponent may use force to defend against your attack. The notion of "reasonable" is up to the jury, not you, but it has to be a reasonable belief that physical force is coming your way.
The jury instruction will make the definition of "aggressor" clear - that is the first person to use force. Verbal escalation simply doesn't count under the law. Everything hinges on physical escalation, who is the first to use force?