Cornell Student Receives Prison Time for Antisemitic Threats

Patrick Dai (photo: Broome County Sheriff's Office)

The Cornell University student who admitted to posting online threats of deadly violence against Jewish people on the Ivy League campus last October was sentenced in a Central New York courtroom on Monday.

Patrick Dai will spend the next 21 months in prison. He will not get credit for the 10 months he has already served.

A native of the Monroe County town of Pittsford, Dai could have received a 27 to 33-month sentence but the Judge in the matter considered his autism diagnosis, mental health struggles, and lack of violent and criminal activity when sentencing the 21-year-old.

Last Fall, Dai posted messages to the Cornell section of an online discussion site calling for the deaths of Jewish people including a post that read, “Gonna shoot up 104 West.” 104 West is a Cornell dining hall that caters predominantly to Kosher diets and is located next door to the Cornell Jewish Center.

He pleaded guilty in April to Making a Threat Using Interstate Communications.

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