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A former student at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, has been sentenced to nearly two years in prison for posting death and rape threats against Jewish students.

“Today, former Cornell University student Patrick Dai was sentenced to 21 months in prison for posting anonymous death threats against Jewish students,” U.S. Attorney Carla B. Freedman for the Northern District of New York said in a press release Monday.

“Before imposing sentence, the court concluded that this was a hate crime within the meaning of the federal sentencing guidelines because Dai specifically attacked Jewish students and significantly disrupted the university's core function of educating its students,” Freedman continued.

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Accordingly ReutersDai was indicted in 2023, pleaded guilty in April and was sentenced to 21 months in prison on August 12. He will be on probation for three years after his release from prison.

As part of his confession, Dai admitted that he had threatened to bomb and rape Jews in an online discussion forum in October 2023.

“Every student has the right to pursue their education without fear of violence based on who they are, how they look, where they come from, or their religion,” Kristen Clarke, assistant attorney general for civil rights at the Justice Department, said in Monday's press release. “Anti-Semitic threats of violence, such as the vicious and graphic threats made by the defendant here, violate that right.”

“As part of his previously entered guilty plea, Dai admitted that on October 28 and 29, 2023, he posted threatening messages in the Cornell section of an online discussion forum, including posts that read 'will blow up 104 West,'” the Justice Department said in its statement. “104 West” is a dining hall at Cornell that, according to the Justice Department, “serves predominantly kosher fare and is located adjacent to the Cornell Jewish Center.”

In addition, the Justice Department stated: “In another post, Dai threatened to 'stab' and 'slit the throat' of any Jewish man he saw on campus, to rape and throw off a cliff any Jewish woman he saw, and to behead any Jewish baby.” The former student also threatened to “bring an assault rifle to campus and shoot all of you Jewish pigs.”

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In December, student protesters held a demonstration accusing Cornell President Martha Pollack and the university of committing “genocide” against the Palestinians.

Campus reform has contacted Cornell University for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.