Judge cites hate crime and ‘substantial disruption’
A former Cornell junior was sentenced to 21 months in prison Monday after he pleaded guilty to threatening to shoot Jewish students.
Chief United States District Judge Brenda Sannes determined that Patrick Dai’s actions constituted a hate crime and caused a “substantial disruption” to the school, The Cornell Daily Sun reported.
The sentence was initially expected to be between 27-33 months. However, Sannes took into consideration Dai’s recent autism diagnosis, as noted by his attorney. The judge suggested that Dai be placed in a prison that would accommodate his mental health needs.
Sannes also issued the shorter sentence considering Dai’s history offered “every indication in her opinion that the online threats were completely out of character,” CBS 6 Albany reported.
Dai told Judge Sannes he “expected no leniency” for his “inexcusable” actions, according to CBS 6 Albany. “It’s all my fault,” he said.
Dai’s attorney, Lisa Peebles, intends to appeal the sentence. She said Dai was “‘the most contrite person’ she had ever represented,” The Cornell Daily Sun reported.
Dai entered a guilty plea in April, admitting he posted threats online to harm and kill Jewish people, including plans to “bring an assault rifle to campus” and “shoot up” the kosher dining hall at Cornell, as previously reported by The College Fix.
In response, university police strengthened security measures for Jewish students and organizations. Dai has spent the last 10 months in jail.
Peebles told the New York Post Dai was influenced by a Cornell professor, who described the October 7 Hamas attack, which resulted in the deaths of 1,200 Israeli citizens, as “exhilarating.”
She also said Dai was not genuinely threatening the Jewish community at the school but was trying to show that Hamas is evil, The Cornell Daily Sun reported. “He is not antisemitic, he loves Jewish people,” Peebles said, following the hearing.
Earlier this year, another Cornell student and former White House intern was under investigation for posting “ZIONISTS MUST DIE” on social media, as previously reported by The College Fix.
The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression condemned the school’s investigation of that student, saying: “Punishing clearly protected political speech is foreclosed by Cornell’s clear commitment to upholding student free speech rights, even when some consider the views expressed to be offensive or hateful.”
MORE: 10 of the most extreme acts of campus antisemitism in the 2023-24 school year
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