Overview
- Luke M. Perez, an assistant professor affiliated with the Salmon P. Chase Center, was placed on paid administrative leave on Feb. 10 and restricted from campus access except for approved reasons.
- Ohio State University Police confirmed an active investigation into the Feb. 9 incident and are evaluating potential charges after journalist D.J. Byrnes and documentarian Mike Newman filed a report.
- Videos posted by Byrnes show Perez blocking further questions to former president E. Gordon Gee before knocking Newman to the ground, with Perez heard saying, “I told you not to put that in my face.”
- Ohio State said media are welcome in public campus spaces if not disruptive, and the AAUP-OSU chapter criticized the episode and questioned the mission of the Chase Center.
- Newman was identified by outlets, said he sought emergency-room care after the encounter, and through an attorney called for Perez to be prosecuted and terminated.