Sarkeesian canceled an October 2014 speaking appearance at Utah State University ( USU ) after the school received three anonymous threats , the second of which claimed affiliation with Gamergate . The initial threat proposed that " a Montreal Massacre style attack will be carried out against the attendees , as well as the students and staff at the nearby Women 's Center " , alluding to the École Polytechnique massacre , a 1989 mass shooting motivated by antifeminism . USU 's President and Provost released a joint statement saying that USU , in consultation with state and federal law enforcement agencies , had assessed that there was no credible threat to students , staff , or the speaker . Requests for additional security measures were declined because of Utah 's open carry laws , leading to the cancellation . The threats drew the attention of mainstream media to the Gamergate situation . Wingfield of '' The New York Times '' referred to the threat as " the most noxious example of a weeks long campaign to discredit or intimidate outspoken critics of the male-dominated gaming industry and its culture " . The Federal Bureau of Investigation ( FBI ) investigated the threat to attack Sarkeesian and other Gamergate-related threats . The investigations , which were plagued with jurisdictional issues , ultimately closed with the FBI failing to identify the perpetrators of some threats and declining to prosecute others
École Polytechnique massacre
École Polytechnique massacre
Gamergate controversy