A viral TikTok video shows University of Delaware students protesting violence against women after a male student beat a female student for four hours.
University of Delaware sophomore Brandon Freyre, was charged Monday, Oct. 11 with kidnapping, assault, strangulation, and terroristic threatening after a female victim reported an assault on Oct. 8.
Kiera Marie, a student and TikToker known as @famousblonde, posted a video, which amassed over 6.1 million views and 1.2 million likes since posting Tuesday, showing students protesting the university’s response to the assault.
In a press release on Monday, the Newark, Delaware Police Department stated that Freyre, who is a member of Kappa Delta Rho fraternity, had a verbal argument with the victim on Oct. 8. He then began striking her with blunt objects while spraying her eyes with spray paint. The victim reported that Freyre threatened to kill her if she contacted the police, before allegedly strangling her to unconsciousness.
The victim was held for about four hours, during which Freyre allegedly threw her down a flight of stairs, until she was able to flee the apartment. She contacted the police after escaping.
The university issued a statement on Tuesday, four days after the assault was reported to police, to “acknowledge the harm inflicted, denounce the violence reported,” and call on the community to come together to keep the campus free of violence.
Some students, including Kiera Marie, say the university didn’t publicly respond fast enough.
Kiera Marie’s TikTok of the protest shows rows of students marching past the Kappa Delta Rho fraternity house. A text overlay states that “His friends sat by laughing as we protested.”
There is currently a Change.org petition calling on the university to expel Freyre. The petition had 15,850 signatures as of Wednesday evening. In an email statement to the Daily Dot, Andrea Boyle, director of external relations at the University of Delaware, said:
“Freyre is now officially separated from the university and was expelled by his fraternity. (Expulsion from the university is a longer process that comes after a student is done with a criminal trial, etc. For now, he is barred from the physical campus, as well as activities and classes.)”
In response to the video of the protest, many viewers expressed anger at the attack and the reactions of the fraternity members watching the protest.
“There is something sick, twisted, and inhuman about the boys who feel safe to laugh about it on that porch,” @filmfriend says.
The Daily Dot reached out to Kiera Marie for comment.
Editor’s note: Due to a technical error, our original message to this TikToker may not have been delivered.
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