Cornell University student Patrick Dai has been sentenced to 21 months in prison for posting antisemitic murder threats on the university’s website. The sentencing was delivered by Syracuse federal Chief Judge Brenda Sannes, following Dai’s guilty plea in April. Despite claiming that his intention was to raise awareness about the atrocities committed by Hamas, Dai’s actions were deemed a serious offense.
Dai’s defense attorney, Lisa Peebles, plans to appeal the sentence, disagreeing with the interpretation of federal sentencing guidelines for her client. Peebles argues that Dai’s diagnosis of autism should be taken into consideration, as it may explain his flawed logic and misguided actions. She also highlights that Dai has already spent close to 10 months in jail since his arrest in November.
Prosecutors, however, maintained that Dai should receive a sentence within the recommended guideline range of 27 to 33 months in prison. Judge Sannes ultimately handed down a slightly lower sentence than what was recommended, acknowledging the severity of Dai’s actions.
Dai, an engineering student and former junior at Cornell University, made multiple disturbing posts on the university’s website shortly after the October 7 massacre carried out by Hamas in Israel. His comments included threats such as “Jewish people need to be killed” and “gonna bomb Jewish house.” He also mentioned shooting up a dining hall catering to Jewish students and killing other Jews with an assault rifle.
Following his arrest on October 31, Dai retracted his comments and issued an apology. Peebles previously stated that Dai was triggered by comments made by a Cornell professor, who expressed excitement about the Hamas attack. At the time, Hamas had falsely accused Israel of a hospital bombing in Gaza.
Prosecutors argued that Dai’s mental health struggles did not excuse his criminal behavior, emphasizing that many individuals face similar challenges without resorting to terrorizing others. They described Dai’s actions as terrorizing the campus community and horrifying the nation during a particularly volatile period.
