A former Cornell University student, who was arrested for posting statements threatening violence against Jewish people on campus last fall, was sentenced Monday to 21 months in prison, The Associated Press reports.
Patrick Dai, of suburban Rochester, New York, was a junior at the university when he was arrested on October 31 for posting anonymous threats to shoot and stab Jews in Cornell’s kosher dining hall on a Greek life forum following the Hamas massacre of October 7.
The threats came during a spike in antisemitic and anti-Muslim rhetoric related to the war and rattled Jewish students on the upstate New York campus.
Dai pleaded guilty in April to posting threats to kill or injure another person using interstate communications.
He was sentenced in federal court to 21 months in prison and three years of supervised release by Judge Brenda Sannes, according to federal prosecutors.
The judge said Dai “substantially disrupted campus activity” and committed a hate crime, but noted his diagnosis of autism, his mental health struggles and his non-violent history. He had faced a possible maximum sentence of five years in prison.
Cornell University President Martha Pollack announced in May that she would be ending her seven-year tenure as of June 30 following months of turmoil including demonstrations and threats to Jewish students.
Pollack, however, insisted in a statement that her departure is unrelated to the anti-Israel protests and displays of antisemitism on campus, stating that she considered announcing her retirement in the fall and winter.