Three members of the Chi Phi fraternity’s FSU chapter were arrested in November after allegedly vandalizing the Delta Sigma Phi house property with racial, homophobic and antisemitic slurs and iconography, and then threatening individuals with a weapon, according to a police report.
Gian Carlo Dautaj was arrested on Nov. 20, 2024, and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and criminal mischief.
Two other suspects, new Chi Phi members Jacob Dutton and Alexander Robert Matheson, were also arrested and charged with criminal mischief.
On Oct. 2, 2024, the Florida State University Police Department (FSUPD) responded to a call that masked individuals broke into FSU fraternity Delta Sigma Phi’s property, located on 605 Pope Street, and spray-painted offensive statements before threatening members with a weapon, according to a police report.
Records show that on Oct. 2 at 12:45 a.m., “N—— Love,” “Reid is gay” and a swastika was noticed spray-painted onto a fence adjacent to the Delta Sigma Phi fraternity house.
After being confronted and chased out of the property, one of the masked suspects allegedly pointed a weapon at Delta Sigma Phi members. The weapon was later identified as a BB gun.
“If you won’t do nothing, I won’t do nothing,” the masked suspect is alleged to have said, according to the police report.
All suspects fled the area on foot.
FSUPD detectives uncovered security camera footage the next day that showed three suspects running away from the vandalized property on Oct. 2 at 1:23 a.m.
A Delta Sigma Phi member reported to the police that he believed Chi Phi was responsible, as ‘Reid’ had previously been dropped by Chi Phi during fraternity rush and joined Delta Sigma Phi.
FSUPD records show that further security footage was recovered from suspect Dautaj’s residence. In the footage, three suspects matching the original description leave the apartment complex at 12:33 a.m. with a paint can before returning to the property at 1:52 a.m.
An FSU student came forward to detectives after Dautaj spoke about the Oct. 2 incident to one of the tipster’s friends, revealing Dautaj’s identity as the suspect who allegedly held the BB gun to Delta Sigma Phi members.
According to police reports, the three suspects were allegedly motivated to attack Delta Sigma Phi after members of Delta Sigma Phi insulted the Chi Phi fraternity president at the time.
Then-Chi Phi President Donald Spurlock insisted to police that his fraternity brothers’ alleged actions were not sanctioned by him or the fraternity.
Dautaj currently serves as a Chi Phi “Rush Mentor,” according to the Interfraternity Council (IFC) website.
Hate crime charges were not pursued as there was no “clear intent from the suspects” to specifically target one group of people, according to Senior Assistant State Attorney Eddie Evans through police reports.
Kade Suddeth, a spokesperson for FSU’s chapter of Delta Sigma Phi, said that the fraternity “does believe this was a targeted attack that was facilitated by the chapter as a whole.”
Chi Phi, as well as Jacob Dutton and Gian Carlo Dautaj’s attorneys, did not return a request for comment.
Student reactions
“I’m disappointed something like this would happen on campus, but not surprised,” FSU junior Tyler Opdyke said.
“FSU shouldn’t allow hateful rhetoric to spread in 2025,” FSU freshman Krithika Kameshwaran said.
Some students wanted to see more actions taken to deter acts of hate on campus.
“There needs to be accountability within the Interfraternity Council at FSU so that this won’t happen again,” sophomore FSU student Aneesa Sukhwani said.
“I’m very openly Jewish, and thankfully, for the most part, there have been little to no issues from the campus,” Vice president of FSU Hillel Cyrus Sabet said. “That being said, to hear that a student painted a swastika and other hateful messages is disgusting, and I hope it’s dealt with because hate like this has no home on campus.”
This article originally appeared on FSU News: FSU fraternity members arrested for allegedly vandalizing Delta Sigma Phi house
Reporting by Aryan Manohar, Staff Writer / FSU News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
