Disturbing footage emerges of uni students tied up blindfolded in basement, soaked in alcohol

Haunting bodycam footage has emerged, that shows university students tied up and blindfolded in a basement, as part of a “hazing” ritual. The hazing incident happened at the University of Iowa, with the Alpha Delta Phi fraternity, and the footage has had millions of views across Twitter and YouTube.

A video circulating shows a bunch of men topless in a basement, as police asked: “Does anyone want to tell me what’s going on? This stops here.” The police are then told the people in charge of the “event” are upstairs, and authorities tell those there to start cleaning up.

The men are drenched in food and alcohol, some blindfolded in the dark. The video was actually taken in 2024, when police and firefighters were responding to a fire alarm at the Alpha Delta Phi fraternity. In the basement of a house, police found 56 people across two rooms, and said it “looks like we have quite a bit of hazing.”

via Twitter/X

Hazing is defined as any humiliating, degrading, abusive, or dangerous activity required for joining or participating in a group, regardless of the individual’s willingness to participate. It’s similar to an initiation ceremony, that sometimes take place at UK universities. Hazing is forbidden at the University of Iowa, and is a misdemeanour under Iowa law.

One man in the video, seeing drinking a beer on the stairs, was identified as 21-year-old Joseph Gaya, who was arrested and charged the following day with interference of official acts.

He told police the event was a “celebration of life”. A spokesperson for the University of Iowa previously told the Iowa City Press Citizen that he was not a student at the university, at the time of the incident.

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The charges were ultimately dropped, but the University investigated the incident and suspended the fraternity for four years, until 2029. At the time, Gaya said in a statement: “This past year has been challenging, but I’m thankful the case was dismissed and the truth was recognised. I deeply appreciate the time, effort, and dedication my attorneys, Dan Vondra and Brianna Potts, put into resolving this case. I’m looking forward to putting this behind me and focusing on the future.”

In the last day, videos posted to social media have had tens of millions of views. In the clip police asked the men to remove their blindfolds before saying they had “given clear demands but nobody is moving”.

Watch the full video here:

The footage from the Iowa Alpha Delta Phi hazing discovery is WILD.

A fire alarm went off, police arrived and discovered pledges in the dirty basement blindfolded and shirtless.

The two guys initially talking to police did not help the fraternity's case pic.twitter.com/zUMe6QL0hw

— Tim Jones (@TimothyJones92) February 18, 2026

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