Former UCLA professor accused of making threats found mentally ill

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A former UCLA faculty member accused of threatening students and staff was declared mentally incompetent last week by a federal court in Denver.

US District Court Judge Raymond P. Moore wrote in a Jan. 27 court document that Matthew Harris’ lawyers filed a motion last October “to determine the defendant’s capacity to stand trial,” according to the Los Angeles Times.

An examination by a forensic psychiatrist found that Harris was “currently suffering from a mental illness or defect rendering him incapacitated” for the defense, the judge wrote.

Last February, Harris pleaded not guilty to allegations that he sent emails and posted videos threatening violence against UCLA. He is accused of sending out emails with an 800-page document and video links to people at the university.

UCLA canceled class on Feb. 1, 2022 as a precaution, and Harris was arrested in Boulder, Colorado, where he lived.

According to court documents, Harris’s mother told authorities that he was diagnosed with schizophrenia and she forcibly committed him to a psychiatric hospital after he allegedly threatened her.

Harris lectured in the Department of Philosophy at UCLA until he was placed on “investigative leave” in March 2021 after allegedly sending pornographic and violent material to his students.

Harris previously attended Duke and Cornell Universities. A trail of red flags about his behavior towards women followed him throughout his academic trip to UCLA. In online class reviews, interviews and emails obtained last year by the Associated Press, current and former students at all three universities allege negligence on the part of schools that allowed Harris to slip away despite his defiant demeanor.

Harris is being hospitalized and treated for his mental illness so experts can determine if his mental condition will improve enough to stand trial in the future, the Times reported.

The judge ordered a written report on Harris’s mental state by May 27.

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