Ohio State University professor Luke M. Perez has resigned after a clash with documentary filmmaker Michael Newman. The dispute involved claims that Perez struck and shoved Newman during a campus interview with former university president E. Gordon Gee.
Here's where things get awkward. Perez worked at the Salmon P. Chase Center, a program set up to back open debate and a range of views. Ohio lawmakers created it in 2023 to help protect academic freedom and the right to speak freely.
Trouble began as Gee's interview was wrapping up inside a university building. Newman wanted to ask an extra question, but Perez allegedly stepped in and turned the exchange physical.
Court records describe Perez knocking the filmmaker's phone away, hitting him in the face, and pushing him against a wall. The encounter led to a criminal case and a separate lawsuit.
An assault charge initially put Perez at risk of a more serious penalty. He later entered a no-contest plea to the lesser offense of disorderly conduct. That plea allowed the criminal case to proceed without him formally admitting guilt.
Newman's attorney, Jeffrey Vardaro, welcomed the departure but said the school still had questions to answer. His concern centers on the gap between the Chase Center's free speech mission and the conduct alleged in this case.
And the legal dispute goes beyond Perez. Newman has also sued Ohio State law professor Christopher Green in federal court. He claims Green gave police a false account that portrayed the filmmaker as the person who started the confrontation.
Neither professor's legal team had issued a response to requests for comment in the source account. Ohio State confirmed Perez had left his post but offered no further remarks about the dispute.
For Newman, the resignation marks a change in Perez's role at the university, though the federal lawsuit remains unresolved. The court has yet to settle the remaining claims against the two professors.
Here's where things get awkward. Perez worked at the Salmon P. Chase Center, a program set up to back open debate and a range of views. Ohio lawmakers created it in 2023 to help protect academic freedom and the right to speak freely.
Trouble began as Gee's interview was wrapping up inside a university building. Newman wanted to ask an extra question, but Perez allegedly stepped in and turned the exchange physical.
Court records describe Perez knocking the filmmaker's phone away, hitting him in the face, and pushing him against a wall. The encounter led to a criminal case and a separate lawsuit.
An assault charge initially put Perez at risk of a more serious penalty. He later entered a no-contest plea to the lesser offense of disorderly conduct. That plea allowed the criminal case to proceed without him formally admitting guilt.
Newman's attorney, Jeffrey Vardaro, welcomed the departure but said the school still had questions to answer. His concern centers on the gap between the Chase Center's free speech mission and the conduct alleged in this case.
And the legal dispute goes beyond Perez. Newman has also sued Ohio State law professor Christopher Green in federal court. He claims Green gave police a false account that portrayed the filmmaker as the person who started the confrontation.
Neither professor's legal team had issued a response to requests for comment in the source account. Ohio State confirmed Perez had left his post but offered no further remarks about the dispute.
For Newman, the resignation marks a change in Perez's role at the university, though the federal lawsuit remains unresolved. The court has yet to settle the remaining claims against the two professors.
