The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of New York announced Tuesday night that Cornell Junior Patrick Dai was “arrested today on federal criminal charges charging him with posting a threat to kill or harm another using interstate communication.”
BREAKING | NBC News: Patrick Dai, 21, a junior at Cornell has been charged federally in connection with these threats following an investigation by the Joint Terrorism Task Force, court documents show. https://t.co/7VRAkru8dO
— Tom Winter (@Tom_Winter) November 1, 2023
The charges stemmed from messages posted on a Cornell messageboard last weekend by a user now identified as Dai. In the messages, Dai threatened to “shoot up” the campus’ Kosher Dining Hall, located adjacent to the Cornell Jewish Center. He said, “Jewish people should be killed.”
The worst is yet to come
The U.S. Attorney’s Office filed a complaint that included information about other posts made by Dai. These included threats to rape Jewish mothers and behead Jewish children.
Dai also allegedly threatened in another post to “stab” any Jewish men he saw on campus and “slit their throats.” He also threatened to rape any Jewish women and throw them off a cliff, as well as behead any Jewish children. Dai also threatened in the same post to “bring an assault rifle to campus to shoot all you pig Jews.”
In recent weeks, college campuses have seen an increase in antisemitic incidents. However, Cornell stands out as a place that is unsafe for Jewish students. Russell Rickford, a Cornell professor, was recorded telling students that the Hamas terror attacks on Israel on October 7 had him “exhilarated”. The terror attack on Israel that took place on October 7 saw families destroyed, babies burnt alive, women raped before their husbands and more than 200 Israelis held hostage.
Rickford apologized later for his “horrible words” but it did not stop the antisemitism that was rising on the Cornell Campus. Patrick Dais might have thought that Rickford was a faculty person who provided students with a cover to express their putrid sentiments toward their Jewish classmates. It is purely speculation, but there is something seriously wrong at this school.
Dai’s arrest is welcome news for the many Americans who have watched in horror in recent weeks as antisemitic activities escalated with no apparent legal consequences. The antisemitic activity has escalated in recent weeks, with no apparent legal consequences. Rage mobs have cornered Jewish students at school libraries. And now we’re seeing individuals like Patrick Dai make terroristic threats against young people who he doesn’t even know.
Dai will make his first appearance in court on Wednesday at the federal court in Syracuse.
