The Justice Department announced Tuesday night that a Cornell University junior has been arrested for allegedly threatening to kill Jewish students. Patrick Dai, 21, allegedly posted on an online forum for fraternities and sororities that he was "gonna shoot up" a Cornell dining hall where kosher meals are served, "stab" and "slit the throat" of any Jewish males he found on campus, rape any Jewish females and throw them off a cliff, and behead Jewish babies. He also allegedly threatened to "bring an assault rifle to campus and shoot all you pig jews."
Dai is expected to appear in federal court on Wednesday and be charged with posting threats to kill or injure another using interstate communication, the Justice Department said, adding that "the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty." The charges carry a maximum five years in prison and a fine up to $250,000.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
The ultimate films of 2024 by genreFrom the Magazine In a year dominated by sequels, here are the releases that impressed the critics, from Hollywoodgate and Twisters to Poor Things and Atomic People
-
The big art stories of 2024In depth From the rediscovery of a long-lost painting and the year's highest sale price to the artwork eaten by its new owner
-
Crossword: December 29, 2024The Week's daily crossword
-
Is academic freedom in peril?Today's Big Question Faculty punishments are on the rise
-
Why college students are struggling to read full booksUnder the Radar Is reading full books a thing of the past for students?
-
Anti-Israel protests impact a Jewish-rooted universityThe Explainer The president of Brandeis University resigned as a result of multiple factors, including his handling of recent protests
-
The history and impact of HBCUsIn depth Schools have long been desegregated, but historically Black colleges and universities are still filling a need in the United States
-
Why are so many colleges closing?Today's Big Question 'Enrollment cliffs' and higher tuition both play a role
-
The UK universities in financial crisisThe Explainer Spiralling costs and fewer international students is leaving universities in serious financial trouble
-
USC under fire for canceling valedictorian speechSpeed Read Citing safety concerns, the university canceled a pro-Palestinian student's speech
-
Not worth cheating your way inOpinion Bribing the college admissions office no longer makes any sense
