A fascist with a makeover is still a fascist

In Melissa Click’s view, one of her worst moments happened to be caught on video and seen by millions of people.

Ms. Click, a University of Missouri communications professor, was taking part in a student protest over racial issues in November when she grabbed at a student journalist’s camera and enlisted other activists to help her with a call that ricocheted across social media: “I need some muscle over here!”

She has since apologized, and she has since been suspended by the university. Ms. Click has heeded advice to remain silent on social media and decline interview requests even as she was excoriated for what was viewed as an outrageous display by a member of academia.

Some conservatives saw her as a thuggish symbol of speech-intolerant higher education, while journalists protested her attempt to restrict the ability to document events in a public area. A petition to fire her attracted more than 3,500 signatures, while more than 100 Republican lawmakers in Missouri called for her ouster.

Now, nearly three months later, she has emerged to tell her side, backed by a public relations and reputation management firm, Status Labs, based in Texas...