Cornell student to face federal charges for threats against Jewish students

ITHACA, New York — A Cornell University student has been arrested and accused of posting threatening statements online about Jewish students at the school, law enforcement officials say.

Patrick Dai, 21, a junior from Pittsford, New York, is charged in a federal criminal complaint with posting threats to kill or injure another using interstate communications, according to a joint announcement from the US Attorney’s office, FBI, New York State police and Cornell University Police.

It’s not immediately clear if Dai has hired an attorney. The federal courts website has not yet been updated with the case. Dai did not respond to a Facebook message and his Cornell email address cannot be immediately accessed.

The charge carries a possible five-year prison sentence, officials say.

The menacing messages, posted over the weekend on a forum about fraternities and sororities, alarmed students at the Ivy League school in upstate New York. The anonymous threats came amid a spike of antisemitic and anti-Muslim rhetoric appearing on social media during the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.

Dai is scheduled to appear Wednesday in federal court in Syracuse, New York, before a United States Magistrate Judge.

Joel M. Malina, vice president for university relations at Cornell University, says the school was grateful for the quick work of the FBI.

“We remain shocked by and condemn these horrific, antisemitic threats and believe they should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law,” Malina says in a statement. “We know that our campus community will continue to support one another in the days ahead.”