Person in Custody After Threats Made Against Cornell University’s Jewish Community: Governor

An entrance sign to Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., on Sept. 1, 2019. Amy Lutz/Shutterstock

Officials in New York state confirmed an individual is in custody after making a series of threats against Cornell University’s Jewish community, according to a statement issued Tuesday.

“Law enforcement has identified a person of interest in relation to threats of a mass shooting and antisemitic violence at Cornell University. This individual is currently in New York State Police custody for questioning,” Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a statement on Tuesday, adding that she had told Cornell students the previous day that the state “would do everything possible to find the perpetrator who threatened a mass shooting and antisemitic violence on campus.”

The governor did not provide more details about the suspect or the threats. It’s not clear whether the suspect is affiliated with Cornell, and a spokesperson for the school told The Cornell Daily Sun that they don’t have any more information about the matter.

Several threats were posted on Cornell’s online platform on Geekrank over the past weekend. The individual threatened to carry out a mass shooting at the 104 West building, which is home to the Center for Jewish Living and has a kosher dining hall, according to a screenshot of one of the posts, published by the Daily Sun. The person threatened physical harm against Jewish students.

University police sent out a community threat crime alert the evening of Oct. 29 and said they were “investigating posts located on a website that contain threats of violence directed at religious groups across the campus.” The department said it has campus patrols and increased security for Jewish students and affiliated organizations.

“Evidence suggests the targeted locations were intentionally selected because of the perpetrator’s bias,” the Cornell University Police Department said in the statement, according to multiple news reports.

The FBI said that it is investigating the incident.

“The FBI is aware of the threats made to Cornell University’s Jewish community,” the agency in a statement to multiple news outlets Tuesday. “We take all threats seriously and are working closely with Cornell and our law enforcement partners at every level to determine the credibility, share information, and take appropriate investigative action.

High Tensions

The threats come in the midst of elevated tensions in the Middle East over the Israel-Hamas conflict, coming weeks after Hamas launched a series of terrorist attacks that left hundreds of Israeli civilians dead. Israel has retaliated with a heavy bombing campaign and launched a ground invasion of Gaza, which Hamas controls.

Across the United States, tensions have also increased on college campuses. Students at a number of universities have partaken in pro-Palestinian protests, while some influential donors—namely at Ivy League schools—have signaled they would end their association with those universities and said the schools need to take a clearer stance on the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Abigail and Leslie Wexner, who are estimated to be worth about $6 billion, signaled that they would cut ties with Harvard University earlier this month over how the school responded to the Oct. 7 Hamas attack. They said the school failed to respond properly to a letter signed by 34 student groups that claimed Israel is responsible for the terrorist attacks.

Former Harvard president Larry Summers, who was secretary of the U.S. Treasury Department under the Clinton administration, said in a social media post that the letter “sickened” him. He added, “The silence from Harvard’s leadership, so far, coupled with a vocal and widely reported student groups’ statement blaming Israel solely, has allowed Harvard to appear at best neutral toward acts of terror against the Jewish state of Israel.”

Other Warnings

The arrest comes as FBI Director Christopher Wray told federal lawmakers on Tuesday that Hamas, a U.S. State Department-designated terrorist group, could inspire ISIS-style attacks within the United States.

“The actions of Hamas and its allies will serve as an inspiration the likes of which we haven’t seen since ISIS launched its so-called caliphate several years ago,” Mr. Wray said.

FBI Director Christopher Wray testifies during a House Judiciary Committee hearing about oversight of the Federal Bureau of Investigation on Capitol Hill in Washington on July 12, 2023. Drew Angerer/Getty Images

But the FBI chief maintained that currently, there is no information to indicate that Hamas “has the intent or capability to conduct operations inside the U.S., though we cannot, and do not, discount that possibility.”

The federal law enforcement agency also believes there has been a rise in anti-Jewish incidents across the United States, Mr. Wray said. “This is a threat that is reaching, in some way, sort of historic levels,” he said during a Senate hearing.

“The Jewish community is targeted by terrorists really across the spectrum,” he said, although the director did not provide specific examples or more details.

Meanwhile, multiple Republican senators issued warnings about the federal government’s immigration policies as illegal immigrants continue to stream across the U.S.-Mexico border.

“We have just returned from our southern border, and it is painfully clear that with Joe Biden’s open border policy, our country is really at an increased threat for a terrorist attack,” Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), the Senate Republican Conference chairman, said in a news conference on Tuesday.

Border Patrol agents, he said, apprehended illegal immigrants who were carrying explosive devices “tailored for terrorism.” He did not elaborate.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has not issued a statement on the matter. The Epoch Times has contacted the agency for comment.