AnOhio State Universityprofessorhas been suspendedafter he tackled a cameraman who was attempting to ask a question of former university presidentE. Gordon Gee.
Luke M. Perez, an assistant professor affiliated with Ohio State's Salmon P. Chase Center for Civics, Culture and Society, was placed on administrative leave Feb. 10 "pending a full OSUPD investigation and thorough review of the facts," OSU spokesperson Ben Johnson said in a statement obtained by the Columbus Dispatch – a part of the USA TODAY Network.
The altercation took place following a "Profiles in American Leadership" class taught by Perez on Feb. 9. Gee was a guest lecturer during the class and took questions in the hallway from D.J. Byrnes, a Columbus area left-leaning independent journalist who authors the newsletter "The Rooster."
The interview included questions about his role in theDr. Richard Strauss sexual abuse case,Jeffrey Epsteinand his decision to privatize the university's parking lots.
After their interview, an unnamed cameraman – who Byrnes said inhis Feb. 10 newsletterdoes not work for him but was with him as "two independent creators working in concert" – attempted to ask Gee a question.
Perez stepped in front of the cameraman to block his path. The cameraman took a step back and did not touch Perez,video recorded of the incidentshows. Within seconds, Perez smacked a cellphone out of the man's hand, swung at his head and tackled him to the ground.
Perez stood over the cameraman and said, "I told you not to put that in my face." As the man stood up, Perez said that the cameraman put hands on him and "shoved that camera in my face."
Byrnes and the cameraman filed a police report with Ohio State's police department, which The Dispatch has requested. He called the incident " brutal and disgusting to witness" in an email to USA TODAY.
"Lucas Perez is a disgrace to my alma mater" Byrnes said. "He would go down in history as one of the most shambolic employee in Buckeye history, if not for Leslie Wexner's decades-long friendship with Jeffrey Epstein."
Perez directed media requests from The Dispatch to university spokespersons.
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Ohio State's American Association of University Professors chapter said in a statement that the incident seemingly runs contrary to the Chase Center's stated mission.
"This assault — and the embarrassing actions around it — make it clear these centers aren't really about encouraging civil discourse and intellectual diversity. AAUP-OSU is in favor of free speech for everyone on campus, not just for the ideas that politicians want to promote," the statement read.
The Chase Center was mandated by the state General Assembly in 2023. Senate Bill 117 created new independent academic centers at five state public universities, including Ohio State,to promote "intellectual diversity."
Chase Center Executive Director Lee Strang previously said the center offers university-wide programming related to thevalues of free speech and civil discoursein addition to offering courses related to civic thought and leadership.
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Local officials raise the Pride flag on a temporary flagpole at theStonewall National Monumentin New York City Feb. 12, 2026. Thousands gathered at the monument to see the flag raised after President Donald Trump had ordered the flag to be removed earlier in the week.
"Ohio's Republican-gerrymandered state legislature mandated lightweight conservative thinking within our beautiful public universities," Byrnes said in the email. "In essence, this saga was a perfect example of what 'freedom of speech' means to Republicans."
Ohio state Sen. Bill DeMora, D-Columbus, described Perez's conduct as "a truly cowardly act attacking someone with both hands full" and called on individuals to protect journalists' First Amendment rights to free speech.
"What is ironic is that The Chase Center, of which the assaulting faculty member works for, claims to be a 'Center for Civics, Culture, and Society that cultivates a free society through open inquiry and excellent scholarship,' Their words, not mine," DeMora said.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Ohio State professor suspended, video shows him tackling cameraman
