The Cornell student who incited fear on an Ivy League campus after allegedly threatening to “rape” Jewish students and “slit their throats” was shackled and stone-faced when he was arraigned in Syracuse on Wednesday afternoon.
Patrick Dai, 21, an engineering student at the upstate New York school, entered the courtroom wearing an orange Broom County jail jumpsuit, handcuffs on his ankles and a blank expression on his face. .
Dai waived his right to a detention hearing and was ordered held without bail before being transferred to the custody of the US Marshalls.
His mother, who claims her son has emotional problems and is innocent, was present in the courtroom.
The engineering student has been accused of posting a series of threats on Internet message boards with usernames such as “Hamas fighter,” “glorious Hamas” and “evil Jew.”
The student then implored his classmates to eliminate Jewish “rats” from campus, according to an indictment by the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of New York.
Patrick Dai, 21, allegedly admitted to posting violent threats after being arrested Tuesday.
Dai allegedly threatened to “bring an assault rifle to campus” and “shoot up 104 West,” a campus dining hall that specializes in kosher meals.
Other threats allegedly included plans to “rape and kill all Jewish women before more Jewish Hitlers were born,” according to the indictment.
After being arrested and read his rights on Tuesday, Dai allegedly admitted to posting the threats, according to a criminal complaint.
He faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine on charges of publishing threats to kill or injure another person using interstate communications.
Dai’s threats terrified Jewish students across Cornell’s Ithaca campus, where tensions were already high in the weeks following Hamas’ bloody attack on Israel and the Jewish homeland’s forceful response.
Dai’s mother, who was present in court, said her son had emotional problems and was innocent. State Trooper Stephen Yang was stationed outside the Cornell Center for Jewish Life after violent threats against Jews appeared online. AP A Broome County sheriff’s van leaves the courthouse Wednesday.Stephen Yang
“Over the last three weeks, we’ve all felt a lot of emotions,” student Josh Rosenheim told Fox News Digital. “We have been very sad, extremely sad, depressed, sometimes angry and a little afraid.
“But I think this was the first time that students were legitimately terrified.”
Dai’s parents insist their son is not responsible for the posts and that his actions were beyond his control.
“My son suffers from severe depression. He cannot control his emotions well due to depression. “No, I don’t think he committed the crime,” his father told the Post via text message, asking not to be identified.
The father explained that Dai fell into severe depression in 2021 after beginning his studies at Cornell, and said that his son had previously been a helpful and high-achieving person.
The threats were posted under usernames such as “kill Jews” X/cbouzy
Dai stopped communicating with his parents in the days before the threats, prompting them to run to campus for fear of getting hurt.
“My wife called him or messaged him many times but got no response. “She was worried that she might commit suicide and drove to her apartment to see what was happening,” her father said.
By the time they arrived on campus, he had already been arrested. Dai’s father said he does not believe his son is responsible for the posts, but that his depression is somehow related to the threats.
Outside the courthouse on Wednesday, Dai’s mother covered her face and avoided reporters by leaving through a back door.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn