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A former junior at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, was sentenced to 21 months in prison after threatening to murder Jewish students and behead their babies.
The Department of Justice said in a press release that 22-year-old Patrick Dai of Pittsford, New York, was sentenced on Monday to 21 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release and a special assessment in the amount of $100.
“Every student has the right to pursue their education without fear of violence based on who they are, how they look, where they are from or how they worship,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said. “Antisemitic threats of violence, like the defendant’s vicious and graphic threats here, violate that right. Today’s sentencing reaffirms that we will hold accountable those who violently threaten and intimidate others based on their religious practice or background.”
CORNELL STUDENT ACCUSED OF THREATENING TO BEHEAD JEWISH BABIES TO REMAIN IN JAIL
Patrick Dais booking photo inset over Cornell’s Center for Jewish Living. (Broom County Sheriff’s Office / AP Photo/David Bauder)
Dai pleaded guilty and admitted to posting threatening messages to the Cornell University section of an online discussion forum on Oct. 28 and Oct. 29, 2023. He was ultimately arrested on Oct. 31.
“Watch out pig jews. jihad is coming. nowhere is safe. your synagogue will become graveyards. your women will be raped and your children will be beheaded. glory to Allah,” Dai wrote on the message board Oct. 28, a criminal complaint states.
WHO IS CORNELL STUDENT PATRICK DAI ACCUSED OF VIOLENT THREATS AGAINST JEWS
A woman walks by a Cornell University sign on the Ivy League school’s campus in Ithaca, New York, on Jan. 14, 2022. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey, File)
Dai made the posts under several usernames, including “kill jews,” “hamas soldier” and “sieg heil.”
The Cornell student also threatened to “shoot up 104 west,” a campus dining hall that serves kosher food. Dai also allegedly threatened in another post dated Oct. 29 that he would “bring an assault rifle to campus and shoot all you pig Jews,” which he described as “rats” who need to be eliminated.
“Today, former Cornell University student Patrick Dai was sentenced to serve 21 months in prison for posting anonymous threats to kill Jewish students,” U.S. Attorney Carla B. Freedman for the Northern District of New York said. “Before imposing a sentence, the court found that this was a hate crime under the federal Sentencing Guidelines because Dai targeted Jewish students and substantially disrupted the university’s core function of educating its students.”
“The defendant’s threats terrorized the Cornell campus community for days and shattered the community’s sense of safety,” she added.
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A new photo has been released of the victim in a nearly 30-year-long unsolved murder case, in the hope of finding any new potential witnesses in the cold case, New Hampshire officials said.
“Our family wants to know what happened, who did this and why,” the family of Rosalie Miller said in a press release. “We miss her and want to give her peace.”
Miller was last seen on December 8, 1996 at her apartment in Manchester. At the time of her disappearance, Miller had plans on meeting friends in the Auburn, New Hampshire area, officials said.
Her body was found on January 20, 1997 in a partially wooded spot on a residential lot along the Londonderry Turnpike in Auburn, officials said in the release.
The autopsy report declared Miller’s death a homicide by asphyxiation due to ligature strangulation, N.H. officials wrote.
As part of a new effort to garner public help with the case, an “uncirculated” photo of Miller, 36, is being distributed “in hopes it may jog the memory of someone who saw or spoke with her in the winter of 1996,” Attorney General John M. Formella and New Hampshire State Police Colonel Mark B. Hall announced on behalf of the New Hampshire Cold Case Unit in a joint press release.
Investigators are especially hoping to talk to anyone who was in contact with Miller in December of 1996 or anyone “who may have seen her in the vicinity of the Londonderry Turnpike in Auburn during that time,” officials said in the release.
“We are releasing this new photograph today because we believe someone out there has information, perhaps a detail they thought was insignificant at the time, that could be the key to solving this case and bringing justice for Rosalie and those who loved her,” Senior Assistant Attorney General R. Christopher Knowles, New Hampshire Cold Case Unit Chief said in the release.
The New Hampshire Cold Case Unit encourages anyone with any amount of information to contact the group at [email protected] or (603) 271-2663.
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A New Jersey animal shelter is asking for the public’s help after last month’s blizzard did heavy damage to its property in Ocean County.
On social media, Popcorn Park Animal Refuge posted a video and described the fury of the storm. saying that the blizzard “caused unexpected damage… impacting habitats, fencing, structures, and critical infrastructure.”
The nonprofit animal haven says its team “worked tirelessly to keep every animal safe during the storm,” however, “the aftermath has left us facing urgent repairs and significant financial strain.”
Photo: Popcorn Park Animal Refuge
The refuge says this winter has been “especially challenging.” It says “repeated severe weather has forced extended closures to the public, further limiting vital support and creating an added burden during an already difficult recovery period,” adding “we need our community now more than ever.”
Popcorn Park was established in 1977, according to its website. It’s part of the Associated Humane Societies — which bills itself as New Jersey’s largest animal welfare organization. Popcorn Park describes itself as “a sanctuary for abandoned, injured, ill, exploited, abused, or elderly farm animals, birds, and wildlife (domestic and exotic).”
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