Elite Law School Cancels In-Person Class Amid Mass Shooting Threat – Above the Law

All
classes
at
UCLA
School
of
Law,
and
the
rest
of
the
university,
will
be
held
online
after
former
lecturer
and
postdoctoral
fellow
Matthew
Harris
posted
a
video
referencing
a
mass
shooting
and
making
specific
threats
against
members
of
the
philosophy
department.
As

reported
by
the
Los
Angeles
Times,
a
unified
response
from
the
university
was
lacking,
with
different
departments
canceling
today’s
in-person
classes
at
different
times
—
and
well
after
Harris’s
video
and
manifesto
were
circulating
on
social
media.

Vice
Dean
David
Marcus
sent
an
email
(available
in
full
below)
informing
folks
that
in
an
“abundance
of
caution,”
classes
at
the
law
school
will
be
virtual
today.
But
as
a
tipster
reports,
the
response
took
some
time:

The
person
who
made
the
threat
referenced
specific
members
of
UCLA’s
philosophy
department,
which
is
located
in
Dodd
Hall.
The
law
school
shares
a
courtyard
with
Dodd
Hall
and
there
are
some
law
school
office
in
that
building.
Students
were
aware
and
terrified
about
this
threat
for
hours
and
we
received
no
information
or
acknowledgment
of
the
threat
from
admin
until
SBA
sent
an
email
to
admin.

The
Times
describes
the
disturbing
materials
Harris
sent
to
members
of
the
UCLA
philosophy
department
and
posted
online:

A
video
titled
“UCLA
PHILOSOPHY
(MASS
SHOOTING)”
was
posted
Sunday
and
contained
disturbing
imagery,
including
footage
of
the
2017
mass
shooting
at
a
Las
Vegas
music
festival
and
clips
from
the
2003
movie
“Zero
Day,”
which
is
loosely
based
on
the
Columbine
High
School
mass
shooting.

The
Times
obtained
a
partial
copy
of
Harris’
email
to
the
UCLA
philosophy
department.

Harris
makes
references
to
race
and
uses
several
profanities.
He
included
links
to
his
manifesto
and
videos,
including
the
video
that
appeared
to
threaten
a
mass
shooting.

“da
war
is
comin,”
he
wrote.
“forward
dis
[expletive]
to
our
tha
goldhead
caucasoid
princess.”

Harris
was
placed
on
administrative
leave
by
the
university
last
year
while
the
school
investigated
allegations
he
sent
pornographic
materials
to
a
student.

A
university
spokesperson,
Steve
Ritea,
said
university
police
are
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.”

---

Kathryn
Rubino
is
a
Senior
Editor
at
Above
the
Law,
host
of

The
Jabot
podcast,
and
co-host
of

Thinking
Like
A
Lawyer.
AtL
tipsters
are
the
best,
so
please
connect
with
her.
Feel
free
to
email

her with
any
tips,
questions,
or
comments
and
follow
her
on
Twitter
(@Kathryn1).