Body camera footage from a fraternity basement at the University of Iowa is spreading rapidly online, surpassing 10 million views as of February 18.
The video captures the moment Iowa City and University of Iowa police responded to a fire alarm at the Alpha Delta Phi fraternity house in the early hours of November 15, 2024, only to discover what one judge would later describe as a “disturbing scene.”
Highlights
- Police responding to a fire alarm found 56 blindfolded, shirtless pledges inside an Alpha Delta Phi basement at the University of Iowa.
- Bodycam footage shows officers asking the students if they were being held against their will.
- Fraternity president Joseph Gaya was arrested after allegedly blocking officers.
Authorities found 56 pledges blindfolded in the basement, shirtless and covered in substances later described in court records as “ketchup, mustard and alcohol.”
What followed was a prolonged and tense exchange between officers and fraternity members that many online have likened to a scene from the 2025 horror movie Weapons.
Footage of a disturbing University of Iowa fraternity hazing resurfaced online, going viral
Image credits: Alpha Delta Phi Fraternity
Officers entered a dark basement at 703 North Dubuque Street after responding to the triggered fire alarm. Inside, “as many as 20 to 30” young men were lined along the walls and around a central pillar, according to Johnson County District Court Judge Jason Burns.
They were “all covered with what seemed like food products like ketchup, mustard and alcohol.”
Image credits: Alpha Delta Phi Fraternity
Bodycam footage shows multiple students standing shoulder to shoulder, shirts off, and blindfolded.
An officer, clearly taken aback, can be heard asking: “Does anyone want to be forthcoming about what’s going on? Anyone? Because you gotta see it from my perspective of, ‘What the f*** did I just walk into?’”
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The officer asked if anyone was being held “against their will” or injured. Each time, the pledges responded “no” in unison.
“This stops here, guys,” an officer said. “This is the police department. This stops here. Who is in charge?”
When repeated commands to clear the room went ignored, another officer stated: “I’ve already given multiple commands to clear the room and get out of here, but no one's moving. Clearly, they’re taking this pretty seriously.”
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Hazing is defined as “any activity expected of someone joining or participating in a group that humiliates, degrades, abuses, or endangers them regardless of a person’s willingness to participate,” according to a report from The University of Maine.
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At the University of Iowa, hazing is strictly forbidden and constitutes a misdemeanor under Iowa law. Journalist Hank Nuwer, who tracks hazing casualties, reported that at least one school tragedy of this nature has occurred every year from 1959 through 2026.
The fraternity president was arrested after refusing to stop the fraternity’s “initiation” ritual
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Outside the building, officers spoke to a person identifying themself as the fraternity president.
When asked what was happening, that person described it as “their lead up to initiation,” adding that “it’s a ritual where they’re blindfolded and get messed with.”
The officer responded: “We responded to a fire alarm, we were trying to get people to evacuate because of the fire alarm, but from my understanding, you guys refused.”
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At the time 21-year-old Joseph Gaya of Riverdale was arrested that night and charged with interference with official acts.
According to court documents, he allegedly stepped between officers and the blindfolded pledges, refused to move, and interrupted conversations between police and fraternity members.
Gaya reportedly told officers his name was Jose, not Joseph, claimed he did not live at the house, and said he did not know who was responsible.
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His attorney later attempted to suppress statements he made and “observations made inside the home,” arguing a Fourth Amendment violation.
Judge Burns denied the motion, referencing bodycam footage and describing a “damning” interaction between officers, Gaya, and the fraternity’s “house dad,” an older male resident who “did not appear to recognize” Gaya.
No fraternity members were charged in connection with the hazing itself.
As a result of the incident, Alpha Delta Phi was suspended at Iowa University until 2029
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In May 2025, the university imposed discipline.
The University of Iowa suspended Alpha Delta Phi for four years, until at least July 1, 2029, citing hazing, misconduct on organizational property, and failure to comply.
The UI chapter had only been established in 2023 and was one of four fraternities and sororities under investigation for policy violations.
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The national Alpha Delta Phi organization stated it was “disappointed” by the suspension, noting that the incident “was fully investigated by local law enforcement, which ultimately concluded with no criminal charges filed.”
The statement called the university’s action “unjust” and criticized what it described as a “one strike” policy “created in 2023 exclusively for Alpha Delta Phi.”
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“Alpha Delta Phi firmly believes this ‘policy’ creates a clear and unjust double standard which aims to remove students from campus life and does little to hold students accountable or correct harmful behavior in the community,” the statement read.
The university denied the existence of such a policy in a December 10, 2024 letter rejecting the fraternity’s appeal.
Associate Dean for Accountability and Care Angela Ibrahim-Olin wrote: “The information gathered by our office, while somewhat consistent with the information you have received, does not end with the conclusion that only two individuals were solely responsible for the incident in question.”
“In good faith, our student leaders submitted a lengthy, detailed, and thoughtful plan,” the national fraternity added, saying those proposals “were wholly disregarded by the University of Iowa without engagement or consideration.”
"Let guys be guys." Some viewers defended the fraternity ritual
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