Current:Home > NewsCornell University student accused of posting online threats about Jewish students appears in court-InfoLens
Cornell University student accused of posting online threats about Jewish students appears in court
View Date:2024-12-23 15:58:47
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) — A Cornell University junior accused of posting violently threatening statements against Jewish people on campus was held without bail after his first appearance in federal court Wednesday.
Patrick Dai, from the Rochester, New York suburb of Pittsford, is charged with posting threats to kill or injure another using interstate communications. The graphic, anonymous messages posted this weekend on a Greek life forum rattled Jewish students on the Ithaca campus in upstate New York.
“While we take some measure of relief in knowing that the alleged author of the vile antisemitic posts that threatened our Jewish community is in custody, it was disturbing to learn that he was a Cornell student,” Cornell President Martha E. Pollack said in a message Wednesday to the university community.
Pollack said the Ivy League university will not tolerate antisemitism, racism, Islamophobia or any other form of hatred.
Investigators traced the threatening messages to Dai through an IP address, a numeric designation that identifies its location on the internet. Dai admitted that he posted the threatening messages in an interview with law enforcement authorities at the Cornell Police Department, according to the federal complaint made late Tuesday.
Dai, 21, waived his right to a bail hearing during his initial court appearance in Syracuse. He also was assigned a federal public defender, Gabrielle DiBella. A preliminary hearing was scheduled for Nov. 15, according to federal officials.
Dai’s mother attended the court appearance and did not comment afterward, according to media reports.
The Associated Press left a phone message seeking comment from DiBella.
The threatening comments were left on a website about fraternities and sororities that is not affiliated with Cornell and prompted police to increase security for Jewish students.
One post included threats to stab and slit the throats of Jewish males and to bring a rifle to campus and shoot Jews. Another post was titled “gonna shoot up 104 west,” a university dining hall that caters to kosher diets and is located next to the Cornell Jewish Center, according to the complaint.
Dai has been suspended from Cornell, a spokesperson said.
Cornell also announced that Friday will be a “community day.” No classes will be held, and faculty and nonessential staff will be excused from work.
veryGood! (54472)
Related
- Judge hears case over Montana rule blocking trans residents from changing sex on birth certificate
- Ukraine's Zelenskyy arrives in Hiroshima for G7 summit
- Colombian president retracts claim 4 missing Indigenous children found alive in Amazon after plane crash
- See Lady Gaga Dressed as Harley Quinn on Joker: Folie à Deux Film Set
- Cavaliers' Darius Garland rediscovers joy for basketball under new coach
- Flawed chatbot or threat to society? Both? We explore the risks and benefits of AI
- Check Out the Most Surprising Celeb Transformations of the Week
- Here’s Why TikTok Is So Obsessed With e.l.f. Makeup — and Why You Will Be, Too
- Mega Millions winning numbers for November 12 drawing: Jackpot rises to $361 million
- How Naya Rivera's Son Josey Is Already Following In His Parents' Footsteps
Ranking
- GM recalls 460k cars for rear wheel lock-up: Affected models include Chevrolet, GMC, Cadillac
- Bindi Irwin Shares Sweet 2nd Birthday Tribute to Daughter Grace Warrior
- Step Inside Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel's Date Night at SZA's Concert
- The Bachelor's Caelynn Miller-Keyes Shares Travel Must-Haves and Packing Hacks
- Jennifer Lopez Gets Loud in Her First Onstage Appearance Amid Ben Affleck Divorce
- 5 questions about the new streaming service Max — after a glitchy launch
- Taylor Swift Gives Fans Permission to Fail During Bejeweled Appearance at 2023 iHeartRadio Awards
- Julia Fox and Amber Rose Reflect on Their Relationships With Mutual Ex Kanye West
Recommendation
-
Justice Department says jail conditions in Georgia’s Fulton County violate detainee rights
-
Russian court extends Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich's detention by 3 months
-
Here’s Why TikTok Is So Obsessed With e.l.f. Makeup — and Why You Will Be, Too
-
These John Wick Franchise Secrets Are Quite Continental
-
Dwayne Johnson Admits to Peeing in Bottles on Set After Behavior Controversy
-
Flawed chatbot or threat to society? Both? We explore the risks and benefits of AI
-
U.S. deported 11,000 migrants in the week after Title 42 ended
-
Remembering America's first social network: the landline telephone