Current:Home > StocksCornell student accused of posting violent threats to Jewish students pleads guilty in federal court -RiskWatch
Cornell student accused of posting violent threats to Jewish students pleads guilty in federal court
View
Date:2025-04-15 00:54:36
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) — A former Cornell University student accused of posting violently threatening statements against Jewish people on campus shortly after the start of the war in Gaza in the fall pleaded guilty in federal court Wednesday.
Patrick Dai, from the Rochester, New York, suburb of Pittsford, was accused by federal investigators of posting anonymous threats to shoot and stab Jewish people on a Greek life forum in late October. Dai, a junior, was taken into custody Oct. 31 and was suspended from the Ivy League school in upstate New York.
The threats came amid a spike of antisemitic and anti-Muslim rhetoric related to the war and unnerved Jewish students on the Ithaca campus. Gov. Kathy Hocul and Doug Emhoff, the husband of Vice President Kamala Harris, traveled separately to Ithaca in the wake of the threats to support students. Cornell canceled classes for a day.
Dai pleaded guilty to posting threats to kill or injure another person using interstate communications. He faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison on Aug. 12, according to the U.S. attorney’s office for northern New York.
“This defendant is being held accountable for vile, abhorrent, antisemitic threats of violence levied against members of the Cornell University Jewish community,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said in a prepared release.
One post from October included threats to stab and slit the throats of Jewish males and to bring a rifle to campus and shoot Jews. Another post was titled “gonna shoot up 104 west,” a university dining hall that caters to kosher diets and is located next to the Cornell Jewish Center, according to a criminal complaint.
Authorities tracked the threats to Dai through an IP address.
Dai’s mother, Bing Liu, told The Associated Press in a phone interview in November she believed the threats were partly triggered by medication he was taking to treat depression and anxiety. She said her son posted an apology calling the threats “shameful.”
Liu said she had been taking her son home for weekends because of his depression and that he was home the weekend the threats went online. Dai had earlier taken three semesters off, she said.
veryGood! (47)
Related
- Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow owns a $3 million Batmobile Tumbler
- Man arrested for throwing rocks at Illinois governor’s Chicago home, breaking 3 windows, police say
- The future of electric vehicles looms over negotiations in the US autoworkers strike
- John Lennon's ex May Pang says he 'really wanted' to write songs with Paul McCartney again
- Justice Department, Louisville reach deal after probe prompted by Breonna Taylor killing
- Horrors emerge from Hamas infiltration of Israel on Gaza border
- Sam Bankman-Fried thought he had 5% chance of becoming president, ex-girlfriend says
- Israel-Hamas war death toll tops 1,500 as Gaza Strip is bombed and gun battles rage for a third day
- Charges tied to China weigh on GM in Q4, but profit and revenue top expectations
- John Cena Shares Regret Over Feud With Dwayne Johnson After Criticizing His Move to Hollywood
Ranking
- NHL in ASL returns, delivering American Sign Language analysis for Deaf community at Winter Classic
- Ukraine’s Zelenskyy visits neighboring Romania to discuss security and boost ties
- Misinformation about the Israel-Hamas war is flooding social media. Here are the facts
- U.S. climber Anna Gutu and her guide dead, 2 missing after avalanches hit Tibetan mountain
- Why we love Bear Pond Books, a ski town bookstore with a French bulldog 'Staff Pup'
- Thousands across US gather for vigils, protests over Israel-Hamas war: 'Broken the hearts of many people'
- 'Potential tragedy' averted: 3 Florida teens arrested after texts expose school shooting plan, police say
- The Amazon antitrust lawsuit is likely to be a long and arduous journey for the FTC
Recommendation
The 401(k) millionaires club keeps growing. We'll tell you how to join.
U.S. climber Anna Gutu and her guide dead, 2 missing after avalanches hit Tibetan mountain
Cops are on trial in two high-profile cases. Is it easier to prosecute police now?
Man arrested for throwing rocks at Illinois governor’s Chicago home, breaking 3 windows, police say
How to watch new prequel series 'Dexter: Original Sin': Premiere date, cast, streaming
Washington moves into College Football Playoff position in this week's bowl projections
Why Meghan Markle Says She's Frightened for Her Kids' Future in a Social Media Age
Carey Mulligan Confirms She and Husband Marcus Mumford Privately Welcomed Baby No. 3