Quinnipiac Professor Matthew Loter allegedly attacked a YouTuber last week during the “Gen Con” gaming convention because he had criticized “social justice” online.
Quinnipiac University gaming professor Matthew Loter allegedly assaulted a YouTube personality last week over online criticisms of Anita Sarkeesian and the social justice movement in general. The alleged victim, YouTuber Jeremy Hambly, ignited Loter’s ire by posting a video in which he criticized the decision to host Sarkeesian at the Gen Con gaming convention in Indianapolis.
In a tweet, Loter had said that he would “fight” anyone that criticized the decision to invite Sarkeesian to the conference. “Real talk: if you have a problem with [Anita Sarkeesian] being invited to @GenCon fucking fight me. I’m easy to find,” Loter wrote on June 5. Loter has since deleted his Twitter account.
In a comment to Campus Reform’s Toni Airaksinen, Hambly said that outside of a local bar, Loter first asked his name to confirm his identity, then put him in a headlock and began screaming and punching him. “At that moment, I sincerely thought it was a fan from YouTube. And then I turned my head and Loter started screaming and punching me, yelling ‘I’m going to f***ing kill you,” Hambly explained. “It took four people to pry him off… then he punched a window and ran off.”
Hambly has shared photos and videos of bruises, cuts, and an eye injury that were allegedly the result of the attack by Loter, which Hambly calls “politically motivated.” Hambly reported the incident to the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department. An investigator was assigned to the case on Wednesday.
Hambly has raised nearly $20,000 in a GoFundMe fundraiser for a civil suit against Loter. He told Breitbart News that a civil suit could cost as most as $50,000.
Gen Con did not issue a statement about the alleged assault or seem concerned that according to witnesses, Loter, an exhibitor at the convention, wore his convention badge during the attack. The convention’s official Twitter account went so far as to promote a sale at the booth Loter was associated with. Hambly published a video this week in which Loter admits to altercations at past Gen Cons, specifically mentioning 2004.
Across social media, conservative creators expressed concern about political violence spreading to other fan events. Comics industry veteran and Clinton Cash: A Graphic Novel Creative Director Brett R. Smith took to YouTube to point out that fan conventions of all types must take action to prevent political violence.
Loter was removed from the Quinnipiac University faculty directory on Thursday morning. Archived versions of the directory from the early hours of August 9 reveal that Loter was listed as a part-time professor in the Visual and Performing Arts department. Loter had both a university email and campus mailbox. According to a university spokesperson, Loter was scheduled to teach “Introduction to Game Design” at Quinnipiac during the upcoming fall semester.