Former Cornell University student pleads guilty to making threats against Jews
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The US Justice Department said Patrick Dai’s threats “caused widespread panic and fear” in Cornell’s Jewish community.
PHOTO: REUTERS
WASHINGTON - A former Cornell University student has pleaded guilty to posting online threats, including of death and violence, against Jewish students on campus, the United States Justice Department said on April 10.
Patrick Dai, 21, was charged late last year for making online threats against Jewish students at the Ivy League school in Ithaca, New York.
The Cornell Daily Sun said his mother, Bing Liu, and two unidentified individuals, attended the hearing. It added that Dai’s father continues to work as a professor in China and was not present at the hearing.
US government officials and civil society advocates have warned about rising threats against American Jews, Muslims and Arabs since the eruption of the Gaza war on Oct 7.
As part of his guilty plea, Dai admitted that on Oct 28 and Oct 29, he threatened to bomb, stab and rape Jews on the Cornell section of an online discussion forum.
The Justice Department said Dai’s threats “caused widespread panic and fear” in Cornell’s Jewish community.
A sentencing hearing is scheduled for Aug 12. Dai faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison, a fine of up to US$250,000 (S$ 338,000) restitution to victims and a maximum of three years of supervised release, according to the Justice Department. A contact for Dai could not immediately be reached.
The Cornell Daily Sun said federal prosecutors were advocating for maximising Dai’s sentencing, citing a hate crime motivation.
US President Joe Biden has condemned rising antisemitism and Islamophobia since Oct 7, when Palestinian Islamist group Hamas attacked Israel killing 1,200, according to Israeli tallies, and sparking Israel’s offensive in Hamas-governed Gaza that has killed more than 33,000, according to the Gaza health ministry. REUTERS
