Kunes Family Says They've Received Death Threats Over Viral Video

What happened outside the apartment door

On the evening of Friday, Nov. 6, 2026, a Ring doorbell camera outside an off-campus Oxford, Mississippi apartment recorded three young women walking past the front door of three Black Ole Miss students. Two of the women made monkey-like noises and gestures directly into the camera as they passed.

The apartment's residents are freshmen Jakiyra Metcalf, Victoria Johnson and Kaiyden Caldwell, all Black, in student housing the university leases. Tasha Bolton, whose daughter is one of the three, said her daughter sent her the footage from her own Ring camera; Bolton then posted the clip to Facebook, writing, "My daughter sent me this video from her Ring camera at her apartment," according to Morning Honey.

The clip — which Baller Alert reports Metcalf first posted online — passed 13 million views within days. Bolton's Facebook post amplified it further. "The video has been shared with university administration, and we want answers," she wrote, according to Morning Honey. "Specifically, what steps will be taken to address this behavior and ensure accountability?"

By that Sunday, the University of Mississippi issued a statement calling the behavior "deeply troubling, hurtful, and unacceptable" and said an investigation was underway, according to Morning Honey.

Who's involved

Alaina Kunes, 18, is the Ole Miss freshman identified as the first of the two women making gestures. Her attorneys, at the firm Gardiner Koch Weisberg & Wrona, confirmed to Spectrum News that she is the granddaughter of Gregg Kunes, owner of the Wisconsin-based Kunes Auto Group, and the daughter of Scott Kunes, who stepped down as the company's chief operating officer in February 2026.

Kunes Auto Group distanced itself from her. "The individual in the video has no employment, ownership, or professional affiliation with Kunes Auto Group," the company told Spectrum News. "We do not comment on private citizens unaffiliated with the company."

A second woman is seen making the same gestures, for longer, after Kunes stopped. Action News 5 and KSLA both report she has not been identified. Baller Alert, citing the Clarion Ledger, has connected the name Lauren Mayfield to a fundraiser described below, though that identification has not been confirmed elsewhere and the woman has not spoken publicly. A third woman walking with them did not make any gestures and has not been named.

"Scott, I'm going to hang your daughter. I'm going to hang the b**** when I find her." — unidentified caller, in a voicemail to Scott Kunes obtained by TMZ

No criminal charges — what the record actually shows

Nothing in the coverage indicates anyone has been criminally charged over the Nov. 6 video itself. Racist gestures, however offensive, are not on their own a crime, which is why this case is moving through the university's conduct process rather than a courtroom.

Chancellor Glenn Boyce said two offices are handling the review — the Office of Conflict Resolution and Student Conduct, and the Office of Equal Opportunity and Regulatory Compliance — and that the university investigation "is moving forward," according to Baller Alert. He said the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act limits what the school can disclose about any student or any discipline that follows.

Kunes has already withdrawn from the university; a source close to her family told WMSN the move was driven by safety and harassment concerns. There is no bond, plea or hearing date in the public record, because there is no criminal case — only a campus proceeding, unless and until charges are filed.

The death threats, in the family's own words

In the same statement where she apologized, Kunes said, through her attorneys and as reported by Spectrum News: "Over the past several days, my family and I have received death threats and harassment. I am grateful for the authorities working to ensure our safety."

TMZ reported it obtained a voicemail left for her father, Scott Kunes, from a woman who said she attends Ole Miss. "Scott, I'm going to hang your daughter. I'm going to hang the b**** when I find her," the caller said, according to TMZ. She continued, "I live in Mississippi, by the way, and I go to Ole Miss, so you best not send your daughter back to that school. That's your best bet right now. Cause Monday morning…"

A spokesperson for the family told Morning Honey, "Throughout the week, Alaina and her family have faced intense harassment and threats of violence," adding they were "deeply troubled by fake fundraising campaigns circulating online about this incident, as well as the vitriol directed at Jakiyra, Victoria and Kaiyden."

Nothing in the coverage indicates anyone has been arrested or charged over the voicemail or any other threat against the Kunes family. A genuine, specific threat to kill someone is its own separate crime from the conduct caught on the Ring camera — one that would expose whoever made it, not the women in the video, to prosecution.

What each side has said

Kunes's full apology, released through her attorneys and reported by Action News 5, read in part: "To the women I offended and to the Ole Miss community, I sincerely apologize... I recognize my actions were insensitive, inappropriate, and deeply harmful. I would have never intentionally made those noises or gestures toward a person of color... These girls deserve to feel seen and understood and what I did is not a reflection of who I am trying to become."

The apology did not satisfy the women at the apartment. Victoria Johnson told CBS Mornings, as reported by Baller Alert, that Kunes stopped but the second woman did not: "She continued to make the gestures after the girl was apologizing. It was like a slap in the face." Kaiyden Caldwell said the apology "still doesn't change what happened on that Friday."

Ole Miss Vice Chancellor Shawnboda Mead said, in a statement carried by WMSN: "Every student deserves to feel safe, respected, and valued at the University of Mississippi. Racism and actions that disparage people because of an aspect of their identity have no place in our campus community."

A second flashpoint: a masked visitor and a six-figure fundraiser

On Nov. 11, Jake Lang — a pardoned Jan. 6 defendant who had been indicted on 11 counts, including assaulting police, before his 2025 pardon — traveled to Oxford and filmed himself outside the students' apartment wearing a gorilla mask, beating his chest and shouting "chimping out!" according to Baller Alert. He also stood in a campus dining hall holding a sign reading "3 Ole Miss girls = patriots."

Lang promoted a GiveSendGo campaign called "Stand with Lauren," organized by Tom Hennessey, who told Baller Alert the money is meant to cover lost income so the woman does not have to "bend the knee." The fundraiser grew from a $20,000 goal to more than $108,000 toward a new $125,000 target; there is no public confirmation the named woman authorized the campaign or will receive the money.

Chancellor Boyce condemned the campus visit without naming Lang, writing in a letter reported by Baller Alert that it was "an obvious attempt to antagonize and offend our students" and that the university "vehemently denounce[s] this person's behavior, which does not align with our campus values."

What happens next

No hearing date, charging decision, or university disciplinary outcome has been made public. Ole Miss has said its conduct investigation is continuing under federal privacy law, and no law enforcement agency has announced an investigation into the threats against the Kunes family or confirmed whether the voicemail obtained by TMZ has been referred for prosecution.