Pelosi cancels Cornell University event amid frat house rape investigation

House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) canceled an upcoming event affiliated with Cornell University amid fresh scrutiny of how the Ivy League institution handled a 2024 allegation of gang rape on its campus.

A source close to the Democratic lawmaker told The Hill that the Oct. 15 event in New York City with the Cornell Institute of Politics and Global Affairs (IOPGA) was canceled due to “the horrific sexual assault allegations and serious concerns about Cornell’s response.”

The Cornell Sun, the university’s independent student newspaper, was the first to report on the event’s cancelation.

The Hill has reached out to Cornell and the IOPGA for comment.

State prosecutors reopened an investigation this week after a former Cornell student filed a new lawsuit alleging she was drugged and gang raped inside a fraternity house in 2024.

The woman, identified as Jane Doe in the suit, is accusing seven members of the fraternity of drugging her and assaulting her for several hours when she was unable to consent.

Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten said criminal charges were not filed in 2024 because Jane Doe’s original statement to police “did not allege that she was drugged against her will or gang raped.”

The woman’s attorneys disputed this account and accused the initial investigation into this case of being inadequate.

On Thursday, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) signed an executive order to appoint state Attorney General Letitia James (D) as the special prosecutor in this case, citing “serious concerns” with how Cornell’s police department and Van Houten handled the original investigation.

“The young woman at the center of this case deserves to know that every fact will be examined and justice pursued,” the governor said in a statement shared on social media. “This action will ensure that the matter is fully and thoroughly investigated without conflict or bias, and handled independently with the rigor that this matter demands.”

The new lawsuit has elicited condemnation from lawmakers, with Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), a Cornell alumna, calling on her alma mater to “step up” in a Wednesday interview with TMZ on Capitol Hill.

“We know what it’s like when institutions fail women,” the Democrat said. “And so whether it’s my university or anyone’s university, clearly there’s been some sort of delay in accountability and that needs to end.”