Columbia�s city prosecutor filed a simple assault charge Monday against a University of Missouri professor whose confrontation with journalists during protests in November was captured on video and went viral.

Melissa Click faces a Class C misdemeanor, punishable by up to 15 days in jail and a $300 fine, for requesting �some muscle� to help remove Mark Schierbecker, a student journalist, from Carnahan Quadrangle on Nov. 9 at the height of student demonstrations about racism on campus. City Prosecutor Steve Richey filed the charge Monday morning, about two months after MU police sent the case to his office.

A receptionist at Richey�s office said he had no comment on the case. Richey previously told the Tribune he was working with both sides in the case on a resolution.

A warrant was not issued for Click�s arrest, the receptionist said, though Click will be issued a summons to appear in court.

Schierbecker recorded Janna Basler, associate director in MU�s Department of Student Life, trying to force Schierbecker and Tim Tai, an MU student and photojournalist, from the quad during demonstrations after former UM System President Tim Wolfe resigned. Click is shown in the video ordering the students to leave the area and saying, �Who wants to help me get this reporter out of here? I need some muscle over here!�

More than 100 Republican state lawmakers and UM System Curator David Steelman have called for Click, an assistant professor of communication, and Basler to be fired. A group of 116 faculty members responded with a letter of support for Click, who remains in her post. Basler was on administrative leave for about a month after the confrontation but has since returned to her job.

Rep. Caleb Jones, R-Columbia, is among Click�s most vocal critics in the Missouri General Assembly.

�While the University of Missouri seems to have no accountability for their professors and their actions, the Missouri criminal justice system does,� Jones said after hearing about the charges. �I hope that justice gets served to the fullest extent of the law.�

Republican gubernatorial candidate Catherine Hanaway issued a news release commending Richey for �taking decisive action and protecting students� First Amendment rights.�

�It is now time for the Board of Curators to do the same and discharge Ms. Click for her outrageous actions,� Hanaway said.

It was not clear how the charge might affect Click�s employment at the university.

Mitchell McKinney, chairman of MU�s Department of Communication, said department officials alone do not make personnel decisions. Many individuals on campus � including the provost�s office, deans and committees � give input in faculty review matters on hiring, firing, promotion and tenure.

�I don�t comment on personnel review matters,� McKinney said.

McKinney said Click does not have tenure but that she is being reviewed for promotion. He said the review process lasts about a year and that Click should be notified of the decision regarding her promotion and tenure by the beginning of August.

Faculty members help set the university�s policies that determine standards related to faculty standing, including termination, promotion and tenure.

MU�s faculty members follow the ethical standards set by the American Association of University Professors. Any person associated with the university � a student, faculty member, administrator or board member � is able to bring �a charge of unethical or irresponsible action� against a faculty member, according to the faculty handbook.

Ben Trachtenberg, chairman of the MU Faculty Council, said the university�s procedures regarding faculty employment are designed to be fair. If the university is considering firing a faculty member, Trachtenberg said, the process is different for tenured professors.

Personnel decisions at MU should be made by people at the university and not as a response to political pressure, he said.

�She deserves to be treated with the same fairness that anyone would want in his own case,� he said. �It�s important to consider someone�s entire record and not their worst 10 minutes.�

Interim MU Chancellor Hank Foley was set to hold a news conference on the charges filed against Click at 3 p.m. Monday.

Click and Basler both issued apologies for their actions. Click did not respond to a message seeking comment Monday. It was not clear whether she has an attorney.

Tribune reporter Rudi Keller contributed to this report.