An Ohio State professor was suspended for allegedly attacking a journalist who was trying to confront the university’s former president after footage of the assault went viral.
Luke Perez, an assistant professor in the Salmon P. Chase Center for Civics, Culture, and Society, was in a Smith Laboratory hallway talking to two freelance reporters when he launched his alleged attack on February 9.
One victim, identified as Michael Neuman, attempted to walk past Perez when the staff member snatched at the man’s phone before grabbing the journalist and dropping him to the floor, according to the footage initially shared by DJ Byrnes on Instagram.
Byrnes, who runs the Rooster newsletter, claims Neuman, a documentarian, was trying to question Ohio State vice president E. Gordon Gee on student loan debt.
“I told you not to put that in my face,” Perez yells over Neuman. “Now, I’m not gonna ask you again, don’t touch me.”
