A Cornell University student is in custody Tuesday facing a federal charge for making violent, antisemitic threats against fellow students in online posts, according to prosecutors.
Patrick Dai, 21, a junior at the Ivy League school, was arrested Tuesday on a federal criminal complaint charging him "with posting threats to kill or injure another using interstate communications," the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of New York said.
The criminal complaint states that Dai called for the deaths of Jewish people and wrote a post that said he was "gonna shoot up 104 west," referring to a Kosher dining hall next to Cornell's Center for Jewish Living, a dorm for Jewish students. The posts occurred on the Cornell-specific section of an online messaging site.
In another post, Dai threatened to "stab" and "slit the throat" of any Jewish men he saw on Cornell's campus, sexually assault and throw Jewish women off a cliff, and decapitate Jewish babies, according to the criminal complaint. He also said he would bring an assault rifle to the university and "shoot all you" Jewish people, according to the complaint obtained by NBC News.
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When Dai was interviewed by the FBI earlier today, he admitted to making the posts, according to the criminal complaint.
Attorney information for Dai was not immediately clear. If convicted, he faces up to five years in prison
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In the complaint, the FBI said investigators were able to trace a post and a series of 6 threatening emails sent by Dai to an IP address registered to him through his ISP, Charter Communications.
Cornell University officials thanked law enforcement for identifying the suspect.
"We remain shocked by and condemn these horrific, antisemitic threats and believe they should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law," said Joel Malina, vide president for university relations at Cornell, in a statement. "We know that our campus community will continue to support one another in the days ahead. Cornell Police will maintain its heightened security presence on campus as the university continues to focus on supporting the needs of our students, faculty and staff.”
Gov. Kathy Hochul visited the school on Monday and met with students and leaders on the campus.
"When I met with Cornell students yesterday, I promised them we would do everything possible to find the perpetrator," Hochul said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, on Tuesday. "Public safety is my top priority and I'm committed to combatting hate and bias wherever it rears its ugly head."
Late Tuesday night, Hochul said the violent threats allegedly written by Dai are "outrageous and unacceptable."
Dai is expected to face a federal magistrate Wednesday at court in Syracuse. He is being held in the Broome County Correctional Facility as part of an agreement with the Broome County Sheriff's Office. Dai is in the medical wing of the jail under 24-hour supervision, the Sheriff's office said.
“Make no mistake – on a personal level, my strong support for the Jewish community, both locally and across our nation, remains unwavering and the entire Broome County Sheriff’s Office stands together against antisemitism, racism and hate in all their forms," Broome County Sheriff Fred Akshar said in a statement.
Advocacy groups recently reported a rise in antisemitic and Islamophobic incidents since the start of the Israel-Hamas war.
