Former Cornell student sentenced to 21 months in jail for threats against Jews

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By Kanishka Singh

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A former Cornell University student who in April pleaded guilty to posting online threats, including of death and violence, against Jewish students on campus, was sentenced on Monday to 21 months in prison, the U.S. Justice Department said.

Patrick Dai, 22, was charged late last year for making online threats against Jewish students at the Ivy League school in Ithaca, New York. His 21 months in prison will be followed by three years of supervised release, the Justice Department said in a statement.

WHY IT’S IMPORTANT

U.S. government officials and civil society advocates have warned about rising threats against American Jews, Muslims and Arabs since the eruption of the Israel-Gaza war in October last year.

KEY QUOTES

“The defendant’s threats terrorized the Cornell campus community for days and shattered the community’s sense of safety,” U.S. Attorney Carla Freedman for the Northern District of New York said in a statement.

“Mr. Dai’s actions serve as a disturbing reminder of the terrifying hatred our Jewish communities encounter simply because of their beliefs,” FBI official Craig Tremaroli added.

CONTEXT

As part of his guilty plea, Dai had admitted that on Oct. 28 and Oct. 29, he threatened to bomb, stab and rape Jews on the Cornell section of an online discussion forum.

U.S. President Joe Biden has condemned rising antisemitism and Islamophobia since Oct. 7 when Palestinian Islamist group Hamas attacked Israel, sparking Israel’s military assault on Hamas-governed Gaza.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Stephen Coates)