Fox 5 Atlanta reports that 21-year-old Matthew Gonzales Forestine has been identified as the man seen in a viral video allegedly choking a Clark Atlanta University student. He was arrested on Monday, as investigators continue to review the footage that sparked outrage across the school’s campus, Atlanta, and beyond. Forestine has been charged with aggravated assault and terroristic threats.

Clark junior, Kayla Bryant shared the footage and follow-up clips to TikTok, explaining that the confrontation began when she asked Forestine to apologize after he stepped on her foot while riding the campus’ shuttle. He refused to apologize. Bryant said when she got off the shuttle, his girlfriend confronted her.

The Clark student said the woman asked, “Is there a problem?” They then exchanged words and Bryant alleged that the girlfriend put her hands in her face, then turned to Forestine and asked, “You got it, bae?”

Bryant said the situation escalated into an attack in which a man “picks me up off the ground and starts strangling me. I couldn’t breathe, and I was kicking off the walls to gain balance,” she explained. “He was telling me he was going to kill me.”

Bryant shared a clip of that violent encounter online, and it gained over 4.5 million views and pressured campus leaders to respond. Clark Atlanta University said it is working with the student, her family, and the Atlanta Police Department, while Morehouse College said the conduct was “disappointing and completely inconsistent with Morehouse’s mission, values and expectations of its community members.” Morehouse added its Campus Safety and Student Services teams “responded swiftly” and that it is reviewing the matter through established student-conduct processes.

Bryant shared a second video with an update after a hospital visit. “A stranger tried to take my life today, but God gave me two hands and feet so that’s cool,” she wrote over the video. Both institutions initially urged patience as investigators reviewed footage to pursue a resolution. 

Forestine’s arrest came after the clips spread widely online and both Clark and Morehouse launched reviews and notified law enforcement. This terrifying moment raises a broader concern about campus safety and the protection of students traveling to and from off-campus housing.

Morehouse College President Dr. F. Dubois issued an additional statement condemning the violence. “Whether physical, verbal, or written, violence and threats of violence have no place in the Morehouse community, particularly violence against women,” he wrote.

Clark Atlanta University’s President George T. French Jr. also issued a statement on Instagram.  “I am deeply concerned by the assault recorded and witnessed on social media of one of my students this week,” he wrote. “As the president of this institution, my first priority is the safety and well-being of our students. As a father, this disgusting display of violence against a young woman is unacceptable and has no place in our community.” 

The footage and the schools’ statements have reignited conversations across the university network about how campuses handle violence, how bystanders document and disseminate incidents, and how institutions balance privacy with transparency. Officials from Clark Atlanta and Morehouse have said they are cooperating with law enforcement.

Officials said investigations and student-conduct reviews are ongoing as authorities corroborate identities and review additional footage. Social media users tried to identify those involved in the days after the video broke, and The Maroon Tiger reported that the suspect’s girlfriend later promised to “post my side soon.” As this case goes on, both institutions said they will pursue appropriate disciplinary and legal steps based on the evidence.