A decision by a federal judge to keep a Cornell University junior in police custody after he was arrested in October for allegedly posting threats online calling for deadly violence against Jewish people is being challenged by the 21-year-old’s attorney.
WSYR television in Syracuse reports Patrick Dai’s public defender filed an appeal this week asking that her client be released from custody pending trial. The mental health of Dai, according to the public defender, should be a reason why he is no longer held in detention at the Broome County Jail.
Dai is accused of posting threatening messages to the Cornell section of an online discussion site calling for the deaths of Jewish people including a post that said “gonna shoot up 104 West.” 104 West is a reference to a Cornell dining hall that caters predominantly to Kosher diets and is located next door to the Cornell Jewish Center.
