All in-person classes at the University of California at Los Angeles were moved online Tuesday after a former lecturer made what were described as “specific threats” to members of the philosophy department in an 800-page screed and sent a video referring to a mass shooting.
UCLA confirmed in a letter to students that police in Colorado arrested an “individual who made threats against some members of our UCLA community.” Matthew Harris, a former philosophy lecturer and postdoctoral fellow, was detained in Boulder, Colo., after a nearly three-hour standoff with authorities, police told reporters.
The Daily Bruin, the student newspaper, reported that Harris sent several messages to some faculty and students Monday that included a memo outlining his threats and a YouTube video titled, “UCLA Philosophy (Mass Shooting).” The video included footage from the 2017 mass shooting at a Las Vegas music festival that killed about 60 people and injured hundreds more in what remains the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history.
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The university acknowledged the seriousness of the threats by announcing that all in-person classes Tuesday would be held remotely “out of an abundance of caution.” University officials said they were “greatly relieved” that Harris was taken into custody.
“While the campus will continue with plans to keep instruction remote today, with this development, we will return to in-person instruction tomorrow,” officials wrote.
It is unclear whether Harris, 31, has an attorney.
Last year, a University of California at Irvine professor got a restraining order against Harris after he threatened in an email to “hunt” the professor and “put bullets in her skull,” the Associated Press reported Tuesday evening.
The threats at UCLA come after at least eight historically Black colleges and universities received bomb threats this week, prompting campus closures and investigations.
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Howard University in D.C.; Bowie State University in Bowie, Md.; Delaware State University in Dover; Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Beach, Fla.; Albany State University in Albany, Ga.; and Southern University and A&M College in Baton Rouge received reports of bomb threats Monday, according to statements from the schools and local law enforcement. They were given all-clear notices by late Monday afternoon.
At least six historically Black colleges and universities receive bomb threats
On Tuesday, Fort Valley State University in Fort Valley, Ga., and Spelman College in Atlanta also reported bomb threats. Fort Valley State had suspended all operations as of early Tuesday afternoon. A Spelman spokeswoman told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that no device was found on campus.
Harris joined UCLA as a postdoctoral fellow in 2019 after he finished his dissertation at Duke University, according to a newsletter from the philosophy department. The spring 2019 newsletter highlighted how Harris “works on philosophy of race, personal identity, and related issues in philosophy of mind.” Harris gave lectures in UCLA courses during his tenure, including a class called “Philosophy of Race,” reported the student newspaper.
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Students repeatedly described him as “unprofessional” on Bruinwalk, a forum where they can leave reviews of faculty members. Another student wrote that Harris’s class was their least favorite “ever.” A different reviewer said Harris had changed a classmate’s grade 43 times after an academic quarter.
Those concerns came to the forefront last year when Harris was placed on leave while officials investigated reports that the lecturer sent a video containing p*rnographic content to a student, reported the Daily Bruin. His postdoctoral status was set to expire in June 2021 for reasons unrelated to the investigation.
Harris posted much of his frustration on his YouTube account, which has since been taken down. Most of the 300 videos posted to his account were published Monday night, according to the Los Angeles Times.
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A video posted Sunday — “UCLA Philosophy (Mass Shooting)” — featured not just clips from the Las Vegas mass shooting but also footage from “Zero Day,” a 2003 movie that is loosely based on the Columbine High School mass shooting in 1999, the Times reported.
YouTube spokesman Jack Malon told The Washington Post that the account was terminated for violating the platform’s hate speech policy, “which prohibits content that dehumanizes or incites violence towards individuals based on their nationality or religion.”
A profanity-laden 800-page screed shared by Harris, an outline he described as being “dedicated to domestic terrorism and violence,” refers to race and calls for “death to America,” according to Southern California-based news station KTLA.
“Da war is comin,” he allegedly wrote.
An email sent by a philosophy instructor to students Monday highlighted the potential threat posed by Harris, who is named in the message. It describes what Harris sent as “a video entitled ‘UCLA Philosophy Mass Shooting’ and an 800-page screed with specific threats towards some members of our department.”
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“In light of this, we will continue to have discussion through Zoom until the authorities say that it is safe,” the instructor wrote. “I will keep you updated on this situation. But I would avoid being anywhere near Dodd Hall or the philosophy department until further notice.”
As the screed and video circulated on Twitter and Reddit on Monday night, students and critics questioned why the university had not informed the campus of the threats sent to the philosophy department.
“Please let everyone know, even if they are not Phil majors,” one person wrote on the UCLA subreddit. “We should not take this lightly. It is saddening that the student body has not been informed of the matter as a whole.”
— a Ψ (@strangerserpent) February 1, 2022tw // mass shooting
Hey everyone UCLA philosophy department has just been threatened of a mass shooting from an ex professor pls spread the news because UCLA has not officially addressed the student body pic.twitter.com/OEZmhCXXVX
Hours later, Steve Ritea, UCLA’s chief media and executive communications officer, tweeted that campus leadership was aware of “a concerning email and posting sent to some members of the UCLA community today and actively engaged with out-of-state law enforcement and federal agencies.”
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Police said UCLA law enforcement tracked Harris to Boulder, and alerted local authorities that he was there. Boulder police reviewed Harris’s screed and found thousands of references to the city. Officers began evacuating nearby schools, businesses and residences early Tuesday.
At 11:07 a.m. local time, police were able to “safely take the male into custody,” officials said.
— Boulder Police Dept. (@boulderpolice) February 1, 2022
UCLA is offering counseling for students, faculty and staff affected by the threats.
“The threats made yesterday were frightening for many of us and caused our community to feel vulnerable at an already challenging time. We know many Bruins turned to one another for support,” the university wrote. “These are unsettling times and your well-being is a top priority, so please do not hesitate to reach out for help if you need it.”
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