A former student of Cornell University has pleaded guilty to posting online threats, including ones of death and violence, against Jewish students at the campus, as stated by the U.S. Justice Department on Wednesday.
Cornell University
Patrick Dai, aged 21, faced charges late last year for issuing online threats aimed at Jewish students attending the Ivy League institution located in Ithaca, New York.
In light of the eruption of the Israel-Gaza conflict on October 7, U.S. government officials and civil society advocates have expressed concerns about the increasing threats targeting American Jews, Muslims, and Arabs.
Dai confessed, as part of his guilty plea, to making threats to bomb, stab, and rape Jews on the Cornell section of an online discussion forum on October 28 and October 29. The Justice Department noted that Dai’s threats induced widespread panic and fear within Cornell’s Jewish community.
A sentencing hearing is set for August 12, where Dai could face a maximum penalty of five years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, restitution to victims, and a maximum of three years of supervised release, according to the Justice Department. Dai could not be reached for immediate comment.
Since the outbreak of violence on October 7, which saw Hamas’s attack on Israel, resulting in Israeli casualties and sparking Israel’s offensive in Hamas-controlled Gaza, U.S. President Joe Biden has denounced the surge in antisemitism and Islamophobia.
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