A student from a prestigious college in New York has been detained and brought to court for allegedly making violent threats against Jewish students.
Prosecutors claim that 21-year-old Patrick Dai, who is studying engineering, threatened to bring a gun to Cornell University and harm Jewish women.
He also made disturbing remarks about “beheading Jewish babies.”
In court, Patrick Dai appeared in an orange jumpsuit, facing charges of making threats to harm others through online communication.
If found guilty, he could face up to five years in prison.
During the court hearing in Syracuse, New York, Mr. Dai’s mother was present, trying to make eye contact with her son.
The prosecutor, Geoffrey Brown, requested that Mr. Dai be kept in custody, mentioning that he had visited a campus dining hall just before making the threats to “shoot up” the area.
Surprisingly, Mr. Dai decided not to request bail.
The Cornell Daily Sun, the college’s newspaper, first reported on a series of anti-Semitic comments posted on the website Greekrank.
This platform, although not officially linked to the university, is popular among its students and covers the social life of fraternities and sororities.
One of the posts, authored by someone using the name “Hamas,” had the title “If I see another Jew.”
Mr. Dai’s parents told the New York Post that their son suffers from severe depression.
His father, who preferred not to be named, stated that they do not believe their son is guilty of the crime.
They explained that Patrick has been struggling with severe depression and has had difficulty controlling his emotions.
As parents, they tried to provide him with more love and support.
According to Mr. Dai’s father, they lost contact with their son in the days leading up to his arrest, and they were worried that he might harm himself.
Cornell University released a statement expressing their shock and condemnation of the anti-Semitic threats.
They emphasized their support for the prosecution of these threats under the law and announced that campus police will increase security measures in the coming days.
Molly Goldstein, co-president of the Cornell Center for Jewish Living, shared her concerns, stating that Jewish students on campus are now living in fear for their safety.
These threats against Cornell’s Jewish community coincide with a concerning increase in anti-Semitic incidents across the country.
During a recent congressional committee hearing, FBI Director Christopher Wray revealed that anti-Semitic abuse in the U.S. has reached “historic levels.”
He pointed out that even though Jewish Americans make up a small percentage of the population (about 2.4%), they are disproportionately targeted, accounting for roughly 60% of all religious-based hate crimes.
Director Wray believed that these figures had likely risen following the Israel-Gaza conflict in early October.
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