Phi Kappa Psi’s University of Virginia chapter has officially filed a $25 million defamation lawsuit against Rolling Stone and writer Sabrina Erdely, just months after UVA Dean Nicola Eramohit them with one of his own. "Rolling Stone published the article with reckless disregard for the truth," Phi Kappa Psi said in a statement obtained by Newsweek. The article in question, of course, is the November 2014 issue’s "A Rape on Campus" story.
The story, written by Erdely, details an alleged gang rape that occurred in 2012 at a party hosted by Phi Kappa Psi. The story specifically alleged that a young woman named Jackie had been raped by frat members, even suggesting that the university was aware of the incident and did nothing to help her. With much controversy, the story was eventually discredited before being retracted outright by Rolling Stone.
The suit, according to Newsweek, details the abuse that multiple fraternity members faced online and in real life. "Numerous threats" are also detailed, including one person’s promise to "straight up kill them" and their families. "Your fraternity is a piece of shit," reads one supposed Facebook message sent to a fraternity member. "If you do this to my sister I'll hunt down every last one of you if it takes me the rest of my life."
