Federal authorities detained Cornell University student Patrick Dai on Tuesday after he allegedly made serious threats against the school’s Jewish community on an unrelated website. Dai was accused of using interstate communications to publish threats to kill or harm other people in a federal criminal complaint. Calls for murder against Jews, threats to carry out a mass shooting at a particular university dining hall, and ominous threats against Jews are among the claims. Dai may be sentenced to a maximum of five years in jail, a fine of $250,000, and up to three years of supervised release if found guilty.
After threats that were purportedly posted by Dai appeared online, Cornell University’s Jewish students were placed on high alert. The suspect’s identity and custody have been confirmed by university administrators, who have also forcefully denounced the antisemitic threats and pledged to help the school community while enforcing increased security.
These threats coincide with a surge in anti-Semitic harassment, assault, and vandalism acts, which have increased by approximately 400% since October 7, the day the Israel-Hamas conflict began. According to FBI Director Christopher Wray’s testimony, there are “historic levels” of anti-Semitic threats in the US, with a number of extremist organizations specifically targeting the Jewish community. The FBI is actively looking into the incident to ensure community safety and prevent violence motivated by hatred and extremism. Federal authorities learned about the incident at Cornell University when school officials reported what may have been a hate crime to the FBI.