Patrick Dai, Posting Online Threats, New York 2023

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Defendant Sentenced to 21 Months for Posting Online Threats

Patrick Dai, a 22-year-old former junior at Cornell University, has been sentenced to 21 months in prison for posting online threats against Jewish students on campus.

According to court documents, Dai, originally from Pittsford, New York, posted threatening messages to the Cornell section of an online discussion forum on October 28 and 29, 2023. The posts included graphic threats to kill or injure Jewish students, including one that said ‘gonna shoot up 104 west’ (a dining hall at Cornell University that caters predominantly to Kosher diets and is next to the Cornell Jewish Center) and another that threatened to ‘stab’ and ‘slit the throat’ of any Jewish man he saw on campus.

Dai also admitted to threatening to ‘rape and throw off a cliff any Jewish women he saw’ and to ‘behead any Jewish babies.’

The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, which includes the New York State Police, investigated the case, with assistance from the FBI Albany Field Office, Cornell University Police Department and Ithaca Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Geoffrey J. L. Brown, Stephen C. Green and Michael D. Gadarian for the Northern District of New York prosecuted the case, with assistance from the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section and the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section.

Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division stated, ‘Every student has the right to pursue their education without fear of violence based on who they are, how they look, where they are from or how they worship.’

U.S. Attorney Carla B. Freedman for the Northern District of New York added, ‘Today, former Cornell University student Patrick Dai was sentenced to serve 21 months in prison for posting anonymous threats to kill Jewish students.’

Special Agent in Charge Craig L. Tremaroli of the FBI Albany Field Office stated, ‘Mr. Dai’s actions serve as a disturbing reminder of the terrifying hatred our Jewish communities encounter simply because of their beliefs.’

The sentence also includes three years of supervised release and a special assessment in the amount of $100.