Who’s Patrick Dai, Cornell College pupil accused of threatening Jewish friends?

NEW DELHI: A Cornell College pupil, Patrick Dai, 21, who’s learning engineering, has been accused of creating violent threats towards Jewish college students. Federal authorities arrested him after he allegedly posted on-line threats over the weekend, suggesting hurt to Jewish college students and mentioning bringing an assault rifle to the campus.
The posts had been traced again to Dai’s IP handle at his off-campus residence.When confronted, he reportedly admitted to the allegations, as per a federal criticism.
The messages threatened to “stab” and “slit the throat” of any Jewish males he sees on campus, to rape and throw off a cliff any Jewish females, and to behead any Jewish infants, based on the criticism. In that very same publish, Dai threatened to “carry an assault rifle to campus and shoot all you pig jews,” authorities mentioned.
Dai’s educational journey started impressively. He entered Cornell as one of many 5 Nationwide Benefit Students from Pittsford-Mendon Excessive College. He was additionally acknowledged as a 12-time AP Scholar and had volunteered at Rochester Basic Hospital. At Cornell, he took on roles equivalent to an undergraduate guide, aiding friends with MATLAB programming, and served because the director of logistics for the college’s Science Olympiad. His LinkedIn profile additionally mentions his promotion to a supervisory position as an orientation chief after simply two months.
Nevertheless, a major shift in his demeanor was noticed after his first yr at Cornell. His dad and mom emphasised that, regardless of his change in conduct, he had no historical past of violent tendencies. They recalled how he expressed feeling misplaced and missing motivation in life. To deal with his psychological well being issues, he took two semesters off from college in 2022 and 2023 on a physician’s suggestion. Nevertheless, his struggles persevered.
The criticism additionally revealed that Dai suffers from “extreme melancholy” and that his mom was involved about his suicidal tendencies. She contacted the Cornell police on October 31, 2023, after receiving a textual content message from him that mentioned “I really like you mother. Goodbye.” His father shared the distressing second when his spouse, fearing their son may hurt himself, drove to his house, solely to seek out cops outdoors, indicating Dai’s arrest.
Nevertheless, Dai’s dad and mom are satisfied of their son’s innocence. Whereas the dad and mom are skeptical about their son’s involvement within the antisemitic posts, they consider his melancholy may be linked to the scenario.
Joel Malina, Cornell’s vp for college relations, mentioned the college was grateful to the FBI for apprehending the suspect. “We stay shocked by and condemn these antisemitic threats and consider they need to be prosecuted to the complete extent of the legislation,” Malina mentioned in an announcement.
Dai now faces prices for posting threats to hurt or kill utilizing interstate communications. If convicted, he may resist 5 years in jail and a high-quality of $250,000. Particulars about his authorized illustration stay unclear, however he’s set to seem in federal court docket quickly.
(With inputs from businesses)