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The worst case scenario I can see here is the acquaintance starts something or causes it to escalate to the point that you start to fear for his life and are forced to choose between protecting him or letting him be killed or seriously injured. It better be cut and dried justified before you act and pray that the "thumpers" are not a protected class of thugs. Bad situation all around and much better to distance yourself from such people.
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This is indeed the worst-case, and, worse, possibly the most likely-case scenario. There are a lot of men who are of the mindset that if they are involved in any sort of confrontation, well, so are their buddies (and vice-versa). I've known plenty of these cats over the years and this mentality all too frequently escalates a situation from sneers and jeers to fisticuffs and worse.
Don't let your "buddy" determine your conduct on your behalf. If an acquaintance starts or pursues a conflict with someone else, it's HIS fight to win or lose, not yours. I call this the "No I don't have your back when you act like an ass" behavior.
One last thing - excessive alcohol consumption seems to be the catalyst for this sort of thing. So...choose your drinking buddies carefully, if you choose to indulge in public.