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Jack Cocchiarella, the progressive Gen Z Democratic activist accused of sexual harassment, is now suing a Dartmouth College student for allegedly spreading rumors about sexual assaults online. 

The lawsuit, filed in the United States District Court in Concord, targets Dartmouth student Nathan Kim. It claims Kim spread false stories online about Cocchiarella raping and assaulting several women on campus.

Cocchiarella, who has done paid political consulting for Democrats like Florida’s Charlie Crist and Georgia’s Marcus Flowers, has denied all accusations of any sexual impropriety. Cocchiarella further claims he has never been investigated by Dartmouth’s Title IX Office.

NHJournal spoke to one woman who said Cocchiarella sexually harassed her and inappropriately touched her. That incident resulted in Cocchiarella receiving a letter from Dartmouth’s Title IX Office laying out a disciplinary course of action and threatening further sanctions if Cocchiarella did not comply. The copy obtained by NHJournal included what appeared to be Cocchiarella’s signature.

As rumors about Cocchiarella swirled online last summer, the Dartmouth Democrats Twitter account published a tweet claiming Cocchiarella was kicked out of the club due to multiple allegations of sexual assault. That tweet was later taken down and the club issued a statement saying that it did not condone the use of the tweet. NHJournal contacted a source close to the situation who confirmed Cocchiarella was in fact kicked out over the accusations. 

Kim’s attorney, Benjamin King of Concord-based Douglas, Leonard & Garvey, declined to comment on the specific allegations laid out in the lawsuit.

Cocchiarella’s lawsuit alleges Kim started an online harassment campaign using anonymous accounts on various social media platforms accusing Cocchiarella of rape as he was gaining fame for his progressive views.

“Kim individually and in concert with others has continued to propagate and publish the false statements and lies that Jack is a ‘rapist,’ ‘raped his classmates,’ ‘raped 6 women,’ ‘raped 8 women,’ ‘raped unconscious girls,’ and is ‘getting away with rape,’” the lawsuit states.

The negative attention stirred by Kim’s posts has threatened Cocchiarella’s lucrative political career, tarnished his reputation as he transfers to Columbia University, and even caused threats according to the lawsuit.

“To this day, Jack lives in fear for his life and safety as a result of the false statements and lies being spread by Kim,” the lawsuit states.

Cocchiarella’s attorney, Susan Stone, told NHJournal in August her client is innocent of any sexual violence.

“To be clear, Jack has never been accused of sexual assault, and he has never been the subject of a criminal or Title IX campus investigation,” Stone wrote in a letter to NHJournal. “He vehemently denies that he was subject to those allegations.”

The lawsuit claims Kim’s harassment started after Cocchiarella confronted Congressman Madison Cawthorn when the North Carolina Republican made an appearance at Dartmouth College along with Republican congressional candidate Karoline Leavitt.

Cocchiarella’s video of his confrontation with Cawthorn went viral and helped propel Cocchiarella into becoming a progressive influencer. According to a report in the Free Beacon, Crist’s campaign has since paid Cocchiarella’s firm $2,250 for digital consulting. His firm got another $40,000 from the Flowers’ campaign. 

Cocchiarella also appeared on a YouTube television show for the Lincoln Project, the anti-Trump political action committee founded by alleged sexual predator John Weaver. Cocchiarella was on the show to plug his own political podcast, Zoomed In.

The alleged victim who spoke to NHJournal said Cocchiarella used his status as a male feminist and progressive to ingratiate himself to her. His behavior deteriorated over a few weeks into stalking-type behavior and included unwanted touching.

“What was scary is he said a lot of really misogynistic things,” she said.

The woman told NHJournal she was shocked by Cocchiarella’s online persona as a feminist ally and progressive fighter when she feared him.

“How does he have this platform as a feminist?” she said.

A lawyer for Gen Z political social-media star Jack Cocchiarella, reportedly kicked out of the Dartmouth Democrats after several sexual assault accusations surfaced last year, told NHJournal Cocchiarella denied the story.

“To be clear, Jack has never been accused of sexual assault, and he has never been (the) subject of a criminal or Title IX campus investigation,” Cocchiarella’s attorney Susan Stone wrote to NHJournal. “He vehemently denies that he was subject to those allegations.”

Stone sent a letter to NHJournal this week asking the news outlet to publish a Cocchiarella-written op-ed so he can make his case disputing the allegations. Before NHJournal had a chance to respond to Stone’s letter, however, an assistant to Stone asked that the letter be “recalled.” No explanation was provided. 

Cocchiarella has not responded to multiple requests for comment on the story. NHJournal has invited the Democratic activist to appear on the outlet’s podcast to address the allegations.

NHJournal spoke to one woman who says she was sexually harassed by Cocchiarella last year. Despite Cocchiarella’s denials, she provided NHJournal with a copy of a letter from the Ivy League school’s Title IX office to Cocchiarella detailing her allegations. The letter handed down a form of discipline against Cocchiarella and threatened him with further action. Cocchiarella’s signature is on the letter obtained by NHJournal.

Stone claims that not only has there never been any investigation, but Cocchiarella left Dartmouth in good standing.

The woman who complained to Dartmouth’s Title IX office about Cocchiarella’s sexual harassment said this week she could not believe Cocchiarella is persisting in denials, calling them ridiculous.

“I honestly am speechless about it all,” the woman said. “Also, very interesting they’re claiming that Dartmouth has no record of a Title IX investigation as that is so categorically untrue.”

Stone’s letter claimed Cocchiarella was never investigated for sexual assault, and that the accusations stem from a political trolling operation to harm him as he gained fame for his progressive advocacy.

“Since October of last year, Jack has been the victim of political trolling,” Stone wrote. “As the (NHJournal) article observed, Jack has built a strong political platform, and he personally confronted Congressman Madison Cawthorn when Cawthorn appeared at Dartmouth. Two days after that very public confrontation, the false reports of sexual assault allegations (that never existed) against Jack began to appear online.”

Stone also disputed the claim that Cocchiarella was kicked out of the Dartmouth Democrats after the sexual assault allegations became known on campus. She claimed the tweet from the Dartmouth Democrats’ account stating Cocchiarella was kicked out because of the accusations was later deleted.

NHJournal contacted a source close to the situation who confirmed that Cocchiarella was in fact kicked out over the accusations.

UPDATE: This week, the Dartmouth Democrats Twitter account put out a statement distancing the group from the tweet in question, though the statement falls short of a denial:

“The @DartDems deleted a Tweet about Jack Cocchiarella that had been posted on July 28th, 2022 to their Twitter account. The Dartmouth Dems do not condone any use of that deleted Tweet.”

Stone claimed Cocchiarella had been subject to death threats in the wake of the accusations. She claimed “authorities” were working with Cocchiarella to uncover who was behind the accusations, but failed to say if that meant a law enforcement agency of any kind.

“The false reports have been devastating to Jack. He has been doxed and his life is being threatened. Jack has also suffered damage to his reputation,” Stone wrote.

Cocchiarella transferred from Dartmouth to Columbia University in recent months, and Stone said the accusation would make it hard for him to safely transition to another school.

It was not clear what impact the accusations have had on Cocchiarella’s professional life. As a rising star in the liberal media, Cocchiarella appears on podcasts and television shows. He also earns thousands as a Gen Z digital consultant for the likes of Georgia’s Marcus Flowers, the Democrat running against Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, and Florida Congressman Charlie Crist, who recently won the Democratic primary to take on Gov. Ron DeSantis in the fall.

Jack Cocchiarella is a rising star in Democratic politics, earning thousands as a “Gen Z”  digital strategist for the likes of Florida gubernatorial candidate Rep. Charlie Crist and Marcus Flowers, running against Rep. Majorie Taylor Greene in Georgia.

Cocchiarella also has a secret. He was kicked out of the Dartmouth College Democrats last year after serious accusations of abusive behavior toward women began circulating. 

Jack Cocchiarella (far right) meets President Joe Biden.

Cocchiarella has built a mini-media empire with podcasts and high-traffic social media accounts. He is a Twitter Super Follow with more than 250,000 followers, another 15,000 on Instagram, and almost 20,000 on TikTok.  Cocchiarella uses his platform to push Democratic talking points and praise politicians like President Joe Biden and Texas’s Beto O’Roarke.

Cocchiarella went viral last year when he filmed himself confronting Congressman Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.), during the congressman’s appearance at Dartmouth College.

He has since gone viral in a less-flattering way. The Washington Free Beacon reports on a string of December 2021 Reddit posts that accused Cocchiarella of using “his Twitter notoriety and left-wing credentials to position himself as an ally. Then, once people let their guards down, he rapes them.”

NHJournal verified the college disciplined him for at least one instance of allegedly abusive behavior. NHJournal spoke to an alleged victim who provided documents about the incident, including a letter warning Cocchiarella that he could be suspended for violating the school’s Sexual and Gender-based Misconduct Policy.

NH Journal is not reporting the name of the alleged victim to protect her identity. She told the Journal that Cocchiarella groped her on one occasion and attempted to touch her on several other occasions before she reported him to the school’s Title IX office.

She said Cocchiarella was friendly at first, but his behavior turned into stalking over a few weeks. His actions became progressively more inappropriate.  She started to feel unsafe around Cocchiarella and decided to go to the Title IX office. 

“What was scary is he said a lot of really misogynistic things,” she said.

The woman is still shocked by Cocchiarella’s online persona as a feminist ally and progressive fighter when in reality she was scared of him.

“How does he have this platform as a feminist,” she said.

College officials declined to comment for this story. Cocchiarella did not respond to several requests for comment.

Cocchiarella is no longer a student at Dartmouth. He recently confirmed in an Aug. 1 podcast that he had switched Ivy League schools and is now a student at Columbia University.

Late last month, Twitter users started tweeting at Cocchiarella about the allegations of sexual misconduct. Many accusers have been telling their stories online for months in forums for Dartmouth students as Cocchiarella started to gain fame for his liberal activism.

The Dartmouth College Democrats Twitter account published a tweet claiming Cocchiarella was kicked out of the club last year when several allegations became known on campus. The club later deleted that tweet, but a source familiar with the matter confirmed to NH Journal that Cocchiarella had been kicked out of the club because of the allegations. 

The Free Bacon also notes Cocchiarella appeared on a YouTube television show for the Lincoln Project, the anti-Trump political action committee founded by alleged sexual predator John Weaver. Cocchiarella was on the show to plug his own political podcast, Zoomed In.

Dartmouth College has a dark history of sexual misconduct on campus. Three years ago, the school paid a $14 million settlement to women who claimed they were sexually assaulted and harassed by three professors. 

The school’s fraternity culture has also gained notoriety. One fraternity served as a model for the one depicted in the 1978 movie “Animal House.” The fraternities were also the center of recent hazing scandals.