Hazing body camera footage shows 56 blindfolded pledges at University of Iowa fraternity
Hazing surfaced again in newly released police body camera footage that captures 56 blindfolded pledges packed into two dark basement rooms at the University of Iowa’s Alpha Delta Phi house after officers and firefighters responded to a fire alarm on Nov. 15, 2024; the university later suspended the chapter through 2029.
Hazing scene captured on police body camera
The footage shows crowds of young men in the basement, many blindfolded and some shirtless, with food and other substances smeared on their bodies; officers found the 56 pledges when they entered the house during the fire alarm on Nov. 15, 2024. In the video an officer reacts aloud, saying, "You gotta see it from my perspective, what the f--- did I just walk into?"
Officers push for answers as pledges remain silent
Police and firefighters shone lights into the rooms and repeatedly asked if anyone needed medical attention or was there against their will; the pledges answered in unison that no one was being held against their will. Officers searched the house and asked multiple times to speak with someone in charge, and at one point ordered several shirtless men out of a room for questioning. An officer in the footage tells the group, "This stops here guys. This is the police department, this stops here. "
What officers saw and what followed
The video shows some pledges covered in white, yellow, red or brown substances, while other accounts of the footage describe ketchup and alcohol on some of the men; officers encountered two dark rooms full of blindfolded participants. Outside the house one person repeatedly shouted slurs at officers and interrupted conversations; that individual was arrested on an interference charge, and prosecutors later dropped the charge.
A man who steps into a doorway in the footage identifies himself as "Jose, " provides an ID and tells officers, "I think it's fake, " and another apparent fraternity member identified himself as the chapter president and told officers the group was engaged in "a ritual prior to initiation. " The university’s subsequent disciplinary action was a suspension of the Alpha Delta Phi chapter for four years, through 2029.
Footage spreads online and draws large view counts
Edited and unedited clips of the body camera footage have been posted online and widely shared on social platforms; an edited online video has drawn more than 630, 000 views, and a short clip on a social video platform gathered over 1. 9 million views. The circulating clips have prompted public comment and renewed attention to the university’s disciplinary decision.
The University of Iowa suspended Alpha Delta Phi through 2029, and prosecutors later dropped the interference charge against the person arrested at the scene; the body camera footage remains available online and continues to be shared across social platforms.
