A former junior at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, has been sentenced to 21 months in prison for threatening to kill a Jewish student and decapitate her baby.
Patrick Dye, 22, of Pittsford, New York, was sentenced Monday to 21 months in prison, to be followed by three years of probation and a $100 special assessment, the Department of Justice announced in a press release.
“Every student has the right to an education without fear of violence based on who they are, what they look like, where they come from, or how they believe,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Anti-Semitic threats of violence, such as the defendant’s vicious and blatant intimidation, violate that right. Today’s sentence reaffirms our commitment to holding accountable those who violently threaten and intimidate others based on their religious practices or background.”
Cornell student accused of threatening to decapitate Jewish babies remains in prison
A photo of Patrick Dice’s arrest warrant is inset in the Cornell University Center for Jewish Life. (Broome County Sheriff’s Office/AP Photo/David Bauder)
Dye pleaded guilty and admitted to posting the threatening messages on the Cornell University section of an online discussion forum on Oct. 28 and 29, 2023. He was eventually arrested on Oct. 31.
“Watch out pig Jews. Jihad is coming. No place is safe. Synagogues will become cemeteries. Women will be raped and children will be beheaded. Glory to Allah,” Dye wrote on the message board on October 28, according to a criminal complaint.
Who is Patrick Dye, the Cornell student accused of making violent threats against Jews?
A woman walks in front of the Cornell University sign on the campus of the Ivy League school in Ithaca, New York, on January 14, 2022. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey, File)
Dai posted under several usernames, including “Kill the Jews,” “Hamas Soldier” and “Sieg Heil.”
The Cornell student also threatened to “shoot up 104 West, the campus dining hall that serves kosher food.” In another post dated October 29, Dye also threatened to “bring an assault rifle onto campus and shoot all of you pig Jews,” and described Jews as “rats” who needed to be eliminated.
“Today, former Cornell University student Patrick Dye was sentenced to 21 months in prison for making anonymous death threats against Jewish students,” said Carla B. Friedman, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of New York. “Before imposing sentence, the Court determined that Dye’s targeting of Jewish students and significantly disrupting the university’s core function of educating students constituted a hate crime under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.”
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“The defendant’s threats terrorized the Cornell campus community for several days and shattered the community’s sense of safety,” she added.
