Cornell sexual assault plaintiff receives death threats and swatting, lawyer says
The woman identified as "Jane Doe" in a lawsuit against Cornell University has been subjected to death threats, doxxing attempts and a swatting incident, prompting her to stay at her parents' home for safety, according to her attorney.
A woman known as "Jane Doe" in a civil complaint alleging she was raped at a Cornell fraternity house in 2024 has been receiving a series of threats, including death threats, online doxxing attempts and a swatting incident, her lawyer said. Thomas Giuffra told CNN that the threats escalated after Doe filed the lawsuit, leading her to tape paper over the windows of her parents' home and remain there out of fear for her safety.
Police responded to a false emergency call on Tuesday evening that claimed a shooting was in progress at the family home. Officers arrived with weapons drawn, pointed guns at Doe's boyfriend, brother and father, and detained the two men in a car before the situation was clarified, Giuffra said. The incident is being investigated by local police and the FBI.
Giuffra said Doe has also faced dozens of other threats since filing the 101-page complaint in September, including a text with gun emojis and repeated attempts to uncover her identity online. An online personality with a large following posted a request for her name and later claimed to have identified her, a practice described as doxxing.
The lawsuit accuses seven members of Cornell's Chi Phi fraternity and the university of drugging and sexually assaulting Doe in October 2024, and alleges the school failed to protect her. The case has sparked protests on Cornell's Ithaca campus, including a seven-hour sit-in demanding accountability.
University President Michael Kotlikoff acknowledged student anger and promised further review of the university's handling of sexual-assault claims. Cornell has also engaged former acting U.S. Attorney General Sally Yates to investigate its processes.
Giuffra described his client as "scared" and said she has withdrawn from her career plans in hospitality, a field she had pursued at Cornell's Nolan School of Hotel Administration, and is now largely confined to her family home while coping with the ongoing media attention.