Former Cornell University student pleads guilty to making threats against Jews
A former Cornell student pleads guilty to online threats against Jewish peers. US officials note increased antisemitism, citing Israel-Gaza tensions since Hamas attack.
A former Cornell University student has pleaded guilty to posting online threats, including of death and violence, against Jewish students on campus, the US Justice Department said on Wednesday.
Patrick Dai, 21, was charged late last year for making online threats against Jewish students at the Ivy League school in Ithaca, New York.
US government officials and civil society advocates have warned about rising threats against American Jews, Muslims, and Arabs since the eruption of the Israel-Gaza war on October 7.
The price of online threats
As part of his guilty plea, Dai admitted that on Oct. 28 and October 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 August 12, where Dai faces 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.
A contact for Dai could not immediately be reached.
US President Joe Biden has condemned rising antisemitism and Islamophobia since October 7, when Palestinian Islamist terror group Hamas attacked Israel, butchering over 1,200 people and kidnapping approximately 250.
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