Jane Doe is getting death threats as pressure builds from Cornell sexual assault investigation

Students walk along Cornell University’s main promenade on a quiet morning on October 6, 2026. Surya Vaidy/CNN via CNN Newsource

Gang rape allegations at Cornell University are fueling a firestorm of actions against the school, against fraternity members named in a lawsuit and against the former student known as Jane Doe, whose accusations have galvanized a nationwide reckoning of sexual assault on college campuses.

Doe, who recently filed a lawsuit alleging gang rape at Cornell’s Chi Phi fraternity house in 2024, has now received death threats, her attorney Thomas Giuffra said. He provided CNN audio of one of the harassing calls.

Doe was also targeted in a swatting incident, during which police drew guns on her family and a friend, the attorney told CNN’s Jake Tapper.

“I was really fearful for my client,” Giuffra told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins Wednesday night. “It could have been a significant tragedy. People could have been dead.”

Doe was home when the incident happened, and “she saw a multitude of heavily armed police with guns in her father’s face, her brother’s face, her friend’s face,” he said.

After that incident, Doe got a threatening text message, according to Giuffra, who also said that he and his family have received threats. His wife received several calls from the same number that texted Doe and he received a call to his office Wednesday from someone threatening his family.

“The temperature needs to be brought down,” Giuffra said, blaming the threats on commentators who have doxxed the woman and accused her of lying. “I am very concerned for her and her family’s safety.”

Some of the accused fraternity members – and even others who are unrelated to the case but have the same names – have faced public backlash as the investigation unfolds.

As outrage continues to grow on Cornell’s campus with university administrators under pressure over its handling of the case, the city of Ithaca, New York, where Cornell is located, voted late Wednesday to put in place a moratorium on issuing event and noise permits for events affiliated with the university.

Meanwhile, a former Justice Department official will investigate the school’s handling of sexual assault claims and the state attorney general has launched a separate investigation into how Cornell police handled Jane Doe’s allegations, how much information was shared with the district attorney’s office at the time, why prosecutors initially decided not to file charges, and whether the school’s internal investigation and actions went far enough.

“The good things that have come out of this whole situation is the positivity that she’s overwhelmingly received from both men and women,” Giuffra said. “She finally feels heard. She finally feels respected, and she finally feels like somebody has her back.”

While Cornell’s president expressed his own anger about what happened with Doe’s case, at least one faculty member is now calling for his resignation.

Here’s the latest

Moratorium on Cornell-affiliated events: The Ithaca Common Council approved a temporary pause on new event and noise permits for Cornell University and its student organizations through early November “due to public safety concerns.” The measure, proposed by Ithaca’s mayor and passed in a 9-1 vote, applies to parties at fraternities, sororities and off-campus housing affiliated with student clubs and organizations, but excludes constitutionally protected activities such as free speech and peaceable assembly, the resolution states. It will expire on Nov. 5 unless extended by councilors, according to the council agenda. A Cornell University spokesperson declined to comment and directed CNN to the university’s website for the latest information.

Students at sit-in hope for change: Students demonstrating at the university’s dining hall Wednesday said they are eager and hopeful for change. “I want to make it clear to the administration that us students aren’t OK with its response to this case,” Maggie Jacobsohn, a freshman, said. “Part of the sit-in is to make sure that we don’t continue with business as usual.” Hannah Gellert, another freshman, said she was supporting the greater cause. “It’s not just Cornell that is facing these horrible events. I think it’s really good that it’s being brought up into the media so it can be addressed on a larger scale,” she said. Students’ trust in the administration is “really low,” Cornell senior Madeline Gage told CNN’s Boris Sanchez Wednesday. “That trust only keeps declining as more details of this case are coming out,” Gage said.

Some accused students are still in school: University officials confirmed two students named in Doe’s civil lawsuit last month are still enrolled and attending classes, according to a recording of a virtual webinar obtained by CNN. Some faculty members said they’re struggling to teach classes the accused students are in and raised questions about how to accommodate them and other students. Giuffra called it “sickening,” saying Doe hadn’t been to the college since February 2025 despite working hard to earn an Ivy League degree. Andrew Miltenberg, who is representing one of the two accused men who remain on campus, told CNN Thursday his client Gillio Lopes is “keeping his head down and trying to do his schoolwork and finish his classes, and that’s what his day is.”

“He and the other young men have been tried, convicted and hung, effectively, in public opinion with no one really knowing what happened,” Miltenberg said. “His name will forever be linked with the Cornell Seven and an alleged gang rape, and I don’t think he can ever outrun that. I don’t think anyone … involved in this case will ever outrun these allegations.”

Lopes was suspended for one academic year and was required to take a class and submit a “reflective paper” about what happened, following the Title IX process, his attorney said.

AG’s post draws court challenge: Attorneys representing one of the accused Cornell students filed a motion in New York State Supreme Court Wednesday asking to void Gov. Kathy Hochul’s appointment of State Attorney General Letitia James as special prosecutor in the case because of James’ previous social media post that expressed support for Doe, Miltenberg said. The AG’s office declined to comment on the filing Wednesday. James had said earlier this week that she is “committed to leading a comprehensive investigation they can trust, guided only by the facts, the evidence, and the law.” Hochul’s office referred CNN to the governor’s earlier comments last week when she expressed confidence in James.

Lawyer for accused student says encounter was consensual: Miltenberg told CNN Thursday his client was not involved in facilitating or encouraging others to participate in the alleged assault, emphasizing that Lopes’ own encounter with Doe was consensual and had already happened before any messages inviting other fraternity members to his room were sent.

“I’ve seen all of the evidence in the Title IX file; there was no crime committed that I’m aware of, and to the extent an investigator decides there was the possibility of a crime, it certainly wasn’t Gillio,” Miltenberg said.

According to his attorney, Lopes felt Doe’s “affect was such that she was coherent and capable of making a decision.”

“She was an active and engaged participant in their sexual encounter,” Miltenberg said Wednesday.

Miltenberg said his client is a “good young man from a good family” who has faced harassment at school in recent weeks. “I think he deserves an opportunity to finish his education without being intimidated, harassed, threatened, or terrified,” Miltenberg said.

Giuffra called the statements “the typical defense,” and countered that Doe was heavily intoxicated and “incapable of any kind of consent.”

“Now in this case, the testimony from people who are not these frat boys but people who saw Ms. Doe before and other people who testified before the Title IX hearing said she was heavily intoxicated, heavily, heavily, heavily intoxicated,” Giuffra said, “And that’s from people who are not connected to Ms. Doe, not connected to the frat boys.”

Faculty member calls for president’s resignation: “There are layers of concerns that need to be addressed. And I think the only way to begin that process is to see resignations and a turnover in our upper administration,” Cornell Faculty Senate member Ariana Kim told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer on Wednesday morning. She specifically called for the resignation of Cornell President Michael Kotlikoff, who was interim president at the time of Doe’s allegations to campus police in 2024.

Doe’s attorney details more threats: Doe has been targeted with threats and attempts to publicize her identity, her attorney told CNN’s Anderson Cooper on Tuesday night. “Just before I got on with you, somebody called her, made a threat to shoot up her house, shoot her, her mother, her father. She’s calling the police as we speak now,” Giuffra told Cooper. While Doe has received other threats since filing her lawsuit, this was the first phone call, Giuffra said. “We’re terrified,” said the attorney, who previously said that he himself received a threat Sunday morning.

No-confidence vote coming: The Faculty Senate will review a resolution for a no-confidence vote before it’s added to the Senate’s meeting agenda for October 14, labor history professor and Faculty Senate member Paul Ortiz said. The Senate is Cornell’s main legislative advisory and review body, with more than 75 members representing the university’s faculty. So far, about 40 senators have supported a resolution to hold a vote of no confidence, Ortiz said. CNN has reached out to Cornell officials for comment.

Students host town hall: Students on Tuesday also hosted a town hall to discuss the ongoing issues on campus. A young woman in attendance said the event had helped “restore my faith in the community.” Another student said they were glad to see the media spotlight being shined on the school. “Sexual violence should make the headlines. It should be shocking, it should be newsworthy because it should be incredibly rare,” they said.

Cornell announces independent review: Former US Deputy Attorney General Sally Q. Yates will lead an independent review of how Cornell University “prevents and responds to sexual harassment, sexual assault and related misconduct on campus,” the university announced Tuesday. Yates and her team will “conduct a detailed review of the university’s response” to Doe’s allegations, “including whether Cornell followed its policies and procedures in responding to the matter,” the university said.

Sexual violence survivors reach out for help in near-record numbers: Over the past week, calls to the National Sexual Assault Hotline are up 73 per cent, and there were more than double the normal number of calls on Monday alone, according to the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network, which operates the hotline. Many of those contacting the hotline said reading about Doe’s case inspired them to call, RAINN President Scott Berkowitz said. “We admire – and are so grateful for – Jane Doe’s courage,” Berkowitz said. “RAINN stands with her, as do millions of survivors and supporters across the country.”

Cornell police drafted requests to phone companies: Documents reveal Cornell police drafted letters to wireless carriers while “investigating a sexual assault incident” about a week after Doe first reported the alleged assault to university police. The drafts, addressed to Verizon and T-Mobile, asked them to “preserve all available data,” including texts, calls, and picture and video messages associated with accounts that “may contain evidence pertinent to the ongoing investigation.” It’s not clear whether investigators ever sent those requests or followed up with subpoenas. And it’s also unclear whether Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten was aware of the 2024 draft letters. The DA has said Cornell police only gave his office a six-page statement signed by Doe and Snapchat screenshots in 2024. CNN has asked the carriers whether they received the requests from Cornell and if they complied.

Prosecutors refused additional evidence: The Tompkins County District Attorney’s office declined at the time to review additional evidence, including more interviews gathered by the campus police department, beyond a six-page statement signed by Doe, according to records obtained by The New York Times. Prosecutors did not express interest in the additional evidence because they had decided, based on Doe’s statement, that “criminal charges would not be pursued in this case,” a Cornell police investigator wrote in a note documenting the call, according to the Times.

If you or someone you know is struggling with sexual assault or trauma, the following resources are available to support people in crisis:

Call 911 if you are in immediate danger or fear for your safety.

The Canadian Association of Sexual Assault Centres’ website has a comprehensive list of sexual assault centres in Canada that offer information, advocacy and counselling.

The Ending Violence Association of Canada’s website has links to helplines, support services and locations across Canada that offer sexual assault kits.

Gloria Pazmino, Holly Yan, Danya Gainor, Maria Sole Campinoti, CNN