US 'drowning in mass shootings': Judge denies bail to Cornell student Patrick Dai

A federal magistrate judge Thursday denied bail for Cornell University student Patrick Dai after noting that violent antisemitic threats he allegedly made and his apparent struggles with mental health issues reminded her of the profiles of some past mass shooters.

"This country is drowning in mass shootings," said U.S. Magistrate Judge Thérèse Wiley Dancks said in federal court in Syracuse Thursday.

Some mass shooters have utilized online threats and communications before their crimes, Wiley Dancks said. "It was not unlike what was happening here," she said.

Dai, 21, is accused of posting online a series of threats that included plans to attack a kosher dining hall at Cornell and to murder and behead Jewish people and students. The postings came from someone using online monikers that included "hamas soldier."

Dai admitted to the threats in a seven-hour interview with the FBI, prosecutors say.

Dai has been using prescribed medication for severe depression and anxiety, though it had not helped Dai, according to his lawyers and his mother, who spoke this week to the Democrat and Chronicle, part of the USA TODAY Network,

The magistrate judge referenced Dai's instability even with medication when deciding whether to release him before trial. "He's still unstable and erratic," she said.

Cornell suspect Patrick Dai's mental health

Federal Public Defender Lisa Peebles said in court that until the allegations against Dai, he had been a stellar student in high school recognized by friends and family for kindness and generosity. Mass shooters typically have some clear signal in their past of possible struggles, she said, but Dai's life previously included no such issues.

• In arguing for Dai's release, Peebles said she thinks his strength as a student masked an apparent development disability.
• In high school, she said, he had a support network of friends, but he lost that at Cornell and felt increasingly isolated.
• He did leave the school for three semesters before returning.

A letter from a high school friend of Dai's, which Peebles read at Thursday's hearing, spoke of Dai's social awkwardness and occasional bullying directed at him. A student once took an assignment completed by Dai and presented it in class as his own, the friend wrote.

Peebles proposed that Dai be released on conditions, including GPS monitoring.

Wiley Dancks said she saw no conditions that would make her feel both the community and Dai would be safe. Dai has expressed suicidal thoughts and recently tried to end his life.

The judge also noted that Dai's father is now teaching at a Chinese University. Dai is a threat to leave the country, she said.

What was the recent antisemitic college student threat?

Assistant U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Brown contended in court that the threats cannot be considered harmless. Not only did the online poster tell of plans to kill Jewish people, but also encouraged others to do the same, he said.

In turn, the Cornell Jewish community, as well as the campus at large, was thrust into an environment of fear with the Oct. 29 online postings, Brown said.

"The weight of the evidence is overwhelming," he said.

Dai was arrested Oct. 31. Brown said a forensics review of Dai's online activity before then showed searches for ways to commit suicide as well as searches that led to Neo-Nazi postings, such as an article about antisemitic comments made by Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West.

Dai clearly wanted to cloak his activity by using anonymous names, Brown said. About four hours after his final posting, Dai allegedly also posted an apology. Brown said the apology cannot be considered serious because Dai still did not reveal that he was the source of the threats.

"This isn't the defendant saying I did it," Brown said.

Exclusive story:Mom of accused Cornell student opens up about son's mental health

What were Dai's motivations with online threats?

Peebles said in court that during the seven-hour interview with the FBI, Dai revealed his true intent with the postings. Instead of motivating antisemitic acts, he wanted to rally people against Hamas, the organization that killed and kidnapped Israelis in an Oct. 7 assault on Israel.

That attack prompted an aerial and ground war response by Israel that has killed thousands of Palestinians in Gaza.

Dai was offended by a New York Times article that at first relied on Hamas claims that Israel had bombed a Gaza hospital. The Times later backed off of that claim because it was not based on evidence; there was not a clear answer to the source of the bombing.

Also, at Cornell an assistant professor proclaimed that he was "exhilarated" by the Hamas attack, statements he later apologized for. An environment of growing support for Hamas made Dai want to demonstrate its evilness, Peebles said. The postings were an amalgam of vile threats he found elsewhere, she said.

"He pretends to be Hamas," she said. "He cobbles together (postings) he finds on the Internet and posts them."

Context:What is antisemitism? A look at the many ways the age-old hatred manifests

Wiley Dancks ordered the U.S. Marshals Service, which handles the detention of federal inmates awaiting trial, to ensure that Dai is able to get mental health treatment and that his mother can visit him.

Twice, his mother, Bing Liu, has driven from her home in Pittsford, New York, to the Broome County jail where Dai is incarcerated and has been turned away both times, Peebles said.

The judge told Dai that she is glad he has not killed himself or anyone else. She said she recognizes the struggles he is having, but she has to ensure the safety of the community.

"I feel sad for you," she said.

— Gary Craig is a veteran reporter with the Democrat and Chronicle, covering courts and crime and more. You can reach Craig at gcraig@rocheste.gannett.com.