An Ohio State University professor has been suspended after he tackled a cameraman who was attempting to ask a question of former university president E. 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 the Dr. Richard Strauss sexual abuse case, Jeffrey Epstein and his decision to privatize the university's parking lots.
After their interview, an unnamed cameraman – who Byrnes said in his Feb. 10 newsletter does not work for him but was with him as "two independent creators working in concert" – attempted to ask Gee a question.
