It is free speech by the standards of our constitution. It is usually uncomfortable and rude, but it is necessary for our preferred way of life here in the US. Where the right of free speech ends is violence or overt threats of the same, liable, trespass, etc.
One of the greatest problems that we currently have is the attack on free speech by certain groups that call any criticism "hate speech". For example, if I criticize financial aid to Israel, I am accused of being anti Semitic. If I criticize financial aid to Egypt and Palestine, I am accused of Islamophobia. In reality, I'm anti $33 trillion debt but no one wants to talk about that. Now, it is perfectly reasonable to debate me about the merit of the above aid as being useful and worth the cost, but now, rather than a fact based argument, we simply have ad hominem attacks by people against other people rather than using facts and rhetorical ability.
Getting back to the original point, was the display of the people involved rude, unnecessary, and unhelpful? Yes. It should also be simultaneously criticized for its content while being defended as free speech. Now, all of the above being said, if/when this blows up into an actual honest to God shooting match, well all of what I said goes out the window, at least as a practical matter, and all bets are off. Let's just hope that it doesn't come to that.