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Ohio State Professor Luke Perez Resigns From Chase Center
Read the full articleLuke Perez has resigned from Ohio State's Salmon P. Chase Center months after a university review committee recommended his firing over a February confrontation with a documentarian. Perez previously pleaded no contest to disorderly conduct and received two years of probation.
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The sources and records behind this story, with the facts they support.
https://www.thelantern.com/2026/10/ohio-state-professor-who-assaulted-cameraman-resigns/
Supporting evidence (4)
Luke Perez, a faculty member at Ohio State University's Salmon P. Chase Center, stepped down from his post on Oct. 23, 2026.
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Luke Perez, the Ohio State professor who was caught on video assaulting an independent documentarian in February, resigned on Friday. University spokesperson Ben Johnson confirmed Perez, a professor at the Salmon P. Chase Center for Civics, Culture, and Society, is no longer an Ohio State employee on Saturday.
University spokesperson Ben Johnson confirmed on Saturday that Perez is no longer an Ohio State employee.
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Luke Perez, the Ohio State professor who was caught on video assaulting an independent documentarian in February, resigned on Friday. University spokesperson Ben Johnson confirmed Perez, a professor at the Salmon P. Chase Center for Civics, Culture, and Society, is no longer an Ohio State employee on Saturday.
The encounter was captured by D.J. Byrnes, author and founder of the local Substack newsletter The Rooster, who recorded a video of the incident.
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D.J. Brynes, the author and founder of local Substack newsletter, “The Rooster,” recorded a video of the incident.
Ohio State placed Perez on administrative leave on Feb. 11 after the incident.
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Perez was placed on administrative leave on Feb. 11 after the incident.
Ohio State assistant professor resigns after confrontation with independent journalist
Supporting evidence (1)
Luke Perez, a faculty member at Ohio State University's Salmon P. Chase Center, stepped down from his post on Oct. 23, 2026.
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Ohio State assistant professor resigns after confrontation with independent journalist An Ohio State committee recommended firing Luke Perez following a February confrontation with a journalist. Perez resigned Oct. 23.
Supporting evidence (2)
A university spokesperson confirmed the resignation, which followed administrative leave that began after a physical confrontation on the Columbus campus.
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A university spokesman confirmed Perez's resignation.In July, Perez pleaded no contest to one count of disorderly conduct. He was originally charged with assault.In February, he was caught on video pushing documentation Mike Newman to the ground as Newman and D.J. Byrnes, the political blogger known as The Rooster, tried to question former Ohio State President E. Gordon Gee.Following the incident, Perez was placed on administrative leave.
The confrontation occurred on Feb. 9, 2026, at Smith Laboratory as documentarian Mike Newman attempted to question former university president E. Gordon Gee.
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Ohio State University Professor Luke Perez assaults documentarian Mike Newman as Newman attempts to question former OSU President Gordon Gee at Smith Laboratory on Monday, February 9, 2026.
Supporting evidence (14)
Gee, a two-time former Ohio State president, had delivered a guest lecture while serving as a consultant for the center.
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a two-time president of OSU and then-consultant for the center, questions after he gave a guest lecture.
In February, Perez was caught on camera assaulting local documentarian Mike Newman in a hallway.
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In February, Luke Perez, an assistant professor affiliated with OSU’s legislatively mandated Salmon P. Chase Center for Civics, Culture and Society, was caught on camera assaulting local documentarian Mike Newman in a hallway.
After the reporters asked Gee several questions, Perez told the reporters to leave.
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After asking Gee several questions, Perez told the reporters to leave.
When the reporters verbally objected, Perez knocked the journalist's phone out of his hand and tackled him to the ground.
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When they verbally objected, he tackled Newman.
In June, a human resources sanctioning committee recommended his firing, calling his actions the most egregious incident of workplace violence that the panel had ever investigated.
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In June, a human resources sanctioning committee recommended his firing, calling his actions “the most egregious incident of workplace violence they had ever investigated.”
In June, a human resources sanctioning committee recommended his firing, calling his actions the most egregious incident of workplace violence that the panel had ever investigated.
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calling his actions “the most egregious incident of workplace violence they had ever investigated.”
Perez told the committee that he did not consider his behavior violent and maintained that he acted in self-defense in line with university guidance on responding to active aggressors.
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Perez told the committee that he did not consider his behavior violent and he acted in self-defense in line with the university’s guidance on responding to active aggressors.
When asked if Perez was still employed at the university, a spokesperson told Inside Higher Ed that he remained on administrative leave.
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When asked if Perez is still employed at OSU, a university spokesperson told Inside Higher Ed that he “remains on administrative leave.”
In Franklin County Municipal Court, Perez was originally charged with assault, a first-degree misdemeanor, to which he pleaded not guilty, according to court records.
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Perez was originally charged with assault, a first-degree misdemeanor, to which he pleaded not guilty.
In Franklin County Municipal Court, Perez was originally charged with assault, a first-degree misdemeanor, to which he pleaded not guilty, according to court records.
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according to Franklin County Municipal Court records.
The court found him guilty of an amended charge of fourth-degree misdemeanor disorderly conduct after he pleaded no contest, according to municipal court records.
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On Monday, the court found him guilty of an amended charge of disorderly conduct, a fourth-degree misdemeanor.
The court found him guilty of an amended charge of fourth-degree misdemeanor disorderly conduct after he pleaded no contest, according to municipal court records.
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An Ohio State University professor who tackled a journalist on campus earlier this year is on probation after pleading no contest to one count of disorderly conduct Monday, according to Franklin County Municipal Court records.
Perez was sentenced to two years of probation and a suspended 30 days in jail.
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Perez was sentenced to two years’ probation and a suspended 30 days in jail.
At Ohio State's intellectual diversity center, Perez had served as an assistant professor affiliated with the legislatively mandated Salmon P. Chase Center for Civics, Culture, and Society.
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In February, Luke Perez, an assistant professor affiliated with OSU’s legislatively mandated Salmon P. Chase Center for Civics, Culture and Society, was caught on camera assaulting local documentarian Mike Newman in a hallway.
Supporting evidence (3)
When the reporters verbally objected, Perez knocked the journalist's phone out of his hand and tackled him to the ground.
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Perez, after telling the journalist he could not ask any more questions, knocked the journalist’s phone out of his hand and tackled him to the ground.
A separate report by the university sanctioning committee found that Perez's actions constituted workplace violence, according to WBNS.
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The University Sanctioning Committee’s report found that Perez’s actions constituted workplace violence, according to WBNS.
An Ohio State spokesperson told WBNS that the university could not comment on personnel matters and declined to say whether Perez had been terminated.
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An Ohio State spokesperson told WBNS they could not comment on personnel matters and declined to say whether Perez had been terminated.
Ohio State professor accused of attacking independent journalist resigns
Supporting evidence (2)
At Ohio State's intellectual diversity center, Perez had served as an assistant professor affiliated with the legislatively mandated Salmon P. Chase Center for Civics, Culture, and Society.
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Luke Perez, an assistant professor in the Salmon P. Chase Center for Civics, Culture, and Society, the university's intellectual diversity center, was accused in February of striking an independent journalist who was attempting
Columbus television station WCMH reported that Perez resigned from his position, citing confirmation from university officials.
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COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- An Ohio State professor accused of attacking an independent journalist resigned from his position Friday, university officials confirmed.