A Cornell University student has been arrested after threatening to shoot Jewish students on campus
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- Patrick Dai, a 21-year-old Cornell University student, was arrested for making antisemitic threats.
- Dai posted online that he'd "bring an assault rifle to campus and shoot all you pig jews."
- His threats prompted days of campus-wide alert and distress among Jewish students.
Patrick Dai, a 21-year-old Cornell University junior, was arrested Tuesday and charged with posting death threats. Prosecutors allege he made antisemitic threats against his college peers that had the entire campus on alert throughout the weekend.
In a statement released by the U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of New York, prosecutors allege Dai was behind a series of threatening online posts targeting Jewish students at Cornell, including calling for the deaths of Jewish people and a threat that said "gonna shoot up 104 west."
The 104 West is home to a dining hall that serves Kosher food and is next to the Center for Jewish Living, a student-run organization that supports the Jewish community on campus.
"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, and to behead any Jewish babies," prosecutors alleged in the statement. "In that same post, Dai threatened to 'bring an assault rifle to campus and shoot all you pig jews.'"
The charge filed against Dai — posting threats to kill or injure another using interstate communications — carries a maximum potential term of up to 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 on Wednesday in federal court in Syracuse, New York.
The arrest comes as Cornell's campus was on high alert over the weekend. Some Jewish students opted to leave campus over the threats of danger, while others made plans to sue the elite school for not doing enough to stop an "explosion" of antisemitism on campus.
Antisemitic and Islamophobic incidents have been rising in the US since October 7, when Israel declared war on Hamas in response to the militant group's terrorist attacks that day, according to the Anti-Defamation League and the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
Reports of antisemitic threats have nearly quadrupled since 2022, while complaints of Islamophobia have jumped to nearly three times of last year's levels.
A day before Dai's arrest, the Center for Jewish Living at Cornell wrote in a statement on Instagram that it had received a "direct threat," but did not provide further details.
"Though the events of the past week are concerning, we will not allow any of these threats to diminish the vibrancy of Jewish life at Cornell," the statement said.
The student organization later said campus security and New York State Police were maintaining a 24/7 presence on its premises.
The Center for Jewish Living did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider sent outside regular business hours. Information on an attorney for Dai could not immediately be found.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul tweeted on Tuesday that she had met with students in Cornell to discuss their safety following the alleged threats.
"Threatening a mass shooting or horrific antisemitic violence is outrageous and unacceptable," she wrote. "Grateful to our law enforcement partners who have worked to keep Cornell students and all New Yorkers safe from the forces of hate."