Cornell University canceled classes on Friday after student Patrick Dai was arrested for making violent antisemitic threats against his Jewish classmates.
The upstate New York Ivy League college said that Friday would be a “community day” where students and staff will be excused from work to relax and reflect following “the extraordinary stress of the past few weeks,” a university spokesperson told The Post.
Dai, an engineering student, was arrested by federal authorities on Tuesday after they connected him to a series of disturbing online posts threatening to kill and rape Jewish students and to “bring an assault rifle to campus.”
The 21-year-old allegedly posted a series of threats to an internet message board intended for fraternity and sorority under usernames like “Hamas fighter,” “glorious Hamas,” and “jew evil,” according to the indictment.
Dai threatened to slit the throats of Jewish people and to “rape and kill all the jew women before they birth more Jewish Hitlers,” according to court documents. He also referred to Jewish people as “rats” that needed to be eliminated.
In one particular post threatened to bring a gun to the school and “shoot up 104 West” — a campus dining hall that specializes in kosher meals.
After being arrested and Tuesday, Dai allegedly admitted to posting the threats, according to a criminal complaint.
He faces up to five years in prison and a fine of $250,000 for charges of posting threats to kill or injure another using interstate communications.
Jewish students on Cornell’s Ithaca, New York campus were left terrified in the two and a half days between when the online posts were reported on Sunday and Dai’s arrest on Tuesday.
Tensions were already high on campus since Hamas launched its Oct. 7 attack on Israel, sparking an aggressive military response. The conflict has divided college communities across the country.
“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 letter to the school community on Wednesday.
She urged students and staff to remain vigilant to combat antisemitism and Islamophobia.
Campus police have increased their presence, especially in “high-priority areas,” Pollack said.
Dai made his initial appearance in Syracuse on Wednesday, wearing an orange jumpsuit and restraints on his ankles. He waived his right to a detention hearing and was ordered held without bail before being transferred to the custody of U.S. Marshalls.
His next court appearance is scheduled for Nov. 15.
Dai’s parents exclusively told The Post that while they don’t believe their son is responsible for the posts, he had been suffering from mental illness.
“My son is in severe depression. He cannot control his emotion well due to the depression. No, I don’t think he committed the crime,” his father told The Post over text, wishing to remain anonymous.
Dai fell into a severe depression in 2021 after beginning his studies at Cornell, and said his son had previously been a high-achieving, helpful person, according to his father.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul visited Cornell on Wednesday and met with Pollack and students at the university’s Center for Jewish Living to discuss the threats and antisemitism on campus.