Over 50 half-naked students found in basement during fraternity hazing ritual
Police happened across over 50 half-naked, blindfolded fraternity pledges in a dirty basement during an alleged hazing ritual at the University of Iowa.
The incident took place at Alpha Delta Phi frat house in November 2024, when emergency services responded to a fire alarm. Now, the eerie bodycam footage of the incident has been released.
Hazing and similar forms of humiliation rituals are strictly prohibited at the University; it is illegal in 44 states.
The harrowing footage has now been released after an investigation into an arrest related to the incident was dismissed.
According to a local report, the 56 male pledges were covered in a sticky mixture of ketchup, mustard, and alcohol in the horrid basement.
In the video, one officer can be heard exclaiming, “Does anyone want to be forthcoming about what’s going on? Anyone? Because you gotta see it from my perspective of, what the f**k did I just walk into?”
Another officer adds, “This stops here, guys. This is the police department. This stops here. Who is in charge?”
However, despite the pressing questions from the emergency services, all of the men remain silent. “How about we start cleaning this up?” An officer can be heard saying, as the men remain in their designated places, unsure how to act.
The police were initially unable to locate anybody on the property who would admit to being in charge.
Police initially arrested a 21-year-old at the scene, who happened not to be enrolled at the University. The charges were eventually dropped in November 2025.
As a result of the incident, the fraternity received a four-year ban at the University; it will not be reinstated until 2029.
The Alpha Delta Phi fraternity has been operating at Universities across America since 1832. However, the fraternity’s Iowa chapter was only founded in 2023, and certainly got off to a rocky start.
Watch the full footage of the strange incident below.