Cornell student arrested, charged for making anti-Semitic threats to Jewish students online

ITHACA, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) — The person of interest involved in the Cornell anti-Semitic threats has been identified. According to United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman, 21-year-old Patrick Dai, of Pittsford, NY, was arrested Tuesday on a federal criminal complaint charging him with posting threats to kill or injure another using interstate communications.

According to the federal criminal complaint, Dai, a junior at Cornell, allegedly posted threatening messages to the Cornell section of an online discussion site. Those messages allegedly included posts calling for the deaths of Jewish people and a post that said “gonna shoot up 104 west.”

The dining hall 104 West at Cornell University caters predominantly to Kosher diets and is located next to the Cornell Jewish Center, which provides residences for Cornell students, according to information from Cornell University Police and other public information.

In another post, Dai allegedly “threatened to ‘stab’ and ‘slit the throat’ of any Jewish males he sees on campus, ‘to rape and throw off a cliff’ any Jewish females, to ‘behead any Jewish babies’ and to ‘bring an assault rifle to campus and shoot all you pig jews.’”

According to Freedman, a charge filed against Dai carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release of up to three years. Dai is expected to make his initial appearance Wednesday in federal court in Syracuse before a United States Magistrate Judge.

Joel Malina, Vice President for University Relations at Cornell University, issued the following statement Tuesday night:

“Cornell University is grateful to the FBI for working so swiftly to identify and apprehend the suspect in this case, a Cornell student, who remains in custody.  We also thank Cornell Police and Chief Anthony Bellamy for extraordinary efforts in supporting the investigation and protecting our campus community. The university will continue to provide assistance to law enforcement and the U.S. Attorney’s Office as this case moves forward.

“We remain shocked by and condemn these horrific, anti-Semitic threats and believe they should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. 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.”

The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) — which includes the New York State Police — as well as the Cornell University Police Department and the Ithaca Police Department are investigating the case.