Rogue ex-lecturer at UCLA threatens mass shooting
Classes revert online following messages of violence
COLIN MULLANEY / ASST. NEWS EDITOR / THE USD VISTA
As UCLA prepared for the return to in-person classes, students may have anticipated further delays, given the unpredictable nature of COVID-19 policies. However, likely one of the last things they expected to occur was the extension of online class sessions due to threats of violence against the campus community. The night before classes were set to return, speculation began to circulate on social media about the possibility of a mass shooting on campus; 35 students and faculty associated with the philosophy department received vague and erratic but threatening emails from a former postdoctoral fellow.
According to an article from the New York Post, now ex-lecturer from UCLA, Matthew Harris, 31, sent members of the department various links to his YouTube videos as well as his 803 page manifesto, in which he makes almost 12,000 allusions to the words “kill,” “bomb,” and “shoot,” in addition to, “racist slurs against Jewish and East Asian people.”
In response to Harris’ emails, UCLA tweeted an initial statement to students at 9:25 p.m., stating that, “UCLA police were aware of a ‘concerning email and posting’ sent to some Bruins,” and that the matter was being handled. However, some community members were less than pleased with this response, as one tweeted back, “…what @UCLA and @UCPDLA are failing to inform students and staff of is that this ‘concerning email’ is a major mass shooter threat.”
Police were allegedly aware of Harris’ credibility and intent, as they had dealt with him previously in association with threats of violence against UCLA faculty. Harris formerly worked with the philosophy department until last year, when he was let go for,“widespread complaints about his behavior as a postdoctoral fellow in philosophy,” according to the LA times. Upon his dismissal from UCLA, Harris’ behavior escalated from conduct issues “involving graphic materials of a sexual and violent nature” to “outright death threats” against community members, an attorney for UCLA told the LA Times.
In previous threats last year, Harris, “threatened to hunt down and kill a University of California professor” and “was subsequently barred from going near her” or buying firearms in the United States. Harris had said that he,“planned to shoot the professor with an MP5 submachine gun ‘for giving me schizophrenia,’” according to the LA Times. Although Harris was peacefully taken into custody in Boulder, Colorado, the day after he sent the emails, anxiety continues to run high at an already anxious and stressed UCLA. Students were offered counseling for any lingering emotional concerns, but more than anything, some students like 22-year-old Lizette Garcia were frustrated with the delay in UCLA’s response, arguing that “the notification of remote classes came so late and failed to mention the mass shooting threat that had been circulating for hours on social media.”
This past week’s incident at UCLA is reminiscent of events that occurred at USD in 2019, when a then tenured professor of theology, Louis Komjathy, made threats against his colleagues, urged boycotts of their classes, and slid an image of a rifle/scope crosshairs underneath their office doors, according to a previous article from The USD Vista. The former USD professor’s actions resulted in his termination and a restraining order against him.
Additionally, parallel to last week’s incident at UCLA, USD students in 2019 were dissatisfied with the school’s “lack of transparency on the issue,” and even gathered for a peaceful protest at the time. Even though “USD’s internal threat assessment… came back negative,” USD students three years ago told the San Diego Union-Tribune that “it took quite a while for the university to address what happened” following the outbreak of rumors about possible threats of violence.
Fortunately, nobody at UCLA or USD was physically harmed, but the fear that accompanies overt threats of violence can have lasting psychological impact, like the threats made at USD in 2019. Matthew Harris is behind bars, and “expected to face federal charges” according to CNN, but the feelings of unsafety and vulnerability that he instilled in many could continue to run rampant for the foreseeable future.
Please stop dragging Dr. Komjathy. You’re comparing an incident that resulted in a felonious arrest, to something else. I understand the events might seem similar, but in reality this UCSD event is larger in scope and seriousness. Comparing the two is negligent, and also counterintuitive to the Peace & Justice flagship of USD; you can’t praise freedom of press and speech at the same time deny a person’s ability to continue with their lives following a police investigation that didn’t lead to a conviction. Let Dr. Komjathy move on. If the professors at USD involved in that incident feel threatened, or students close to that situation feel threatened, perhaps get a quote from them to put things into perspective and context. Boiling one event that was entangled in other administrative conflicts systemic to that event is irresponsible writing.. using this event as a throwaway to a person’s entire career and comparing it to someone’s 803 page manifesto of vocalized violence and intent, means, and capability leading to a conviction is completely different. Hopefully this comment is digested and discussed.