Bodycam Footage Reveals 56 Blindfolded Pledges Packed Into Fraternity Basement During Alleged Hazing Ritual
Alpha Delta Phi house
Police responded to a fire alarm at the University of Iowa in November 2024 and found a group of blindfolded fraternity pledges in the basement of the Alpha Delta Phi house, according to authorities and resurfaced online video.
Video recently circulating on social media shows officers arriving at a cluttered, dark basement and confronting 56 hostages, most of whom were shirtless and blindfolded. The officers can be heard asking what they have gotten themselves into and who is responsible.
The incident occurred while officers were responding to a fire alarm at the fraternity building in Iowa City, according to authorities and video that has resurfaced online. Police responding to the fire alarm found hostages gathered in the basement.
In the video, officers repeatedly tell people to leave the room as they try to find out who is responsible, but no one cooperates or gives them answers about what is going on. At one point in the video, officers ask participants what they are there for as they stand silently with their hands at their sides.
According to the information provided by the police, a 21-year-old man who came between the police investigating the incident and the witnesses was arrested on suspicion of interfering with official proceedings. The charges were later dropped.
According to cops, the fraternity president told them the meeting was part of a pre-ceremony ritual in which the vows were blindfolded and “mixed.”
The University of Iowa launched an investigation into the incident. The University of Iowa suspended the fraternity on February 25, 2025. According to the University of Iowa, the fraternity has been suspended from the university until at least July 1, 2029.
The University of Iowa did not share further details about its investigation but confirmed the suspension remains in effect.
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