Person of interest in custody over Cornell antisemitic posts, says New York governor

A person of interest has been taken into custody for his alleged connection to the online antisemitic posts directed at Cornell University’s Jewish community, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) said on Tuesday. 

“Law enforcement has identified a person of interest in relation to threats of a mass shooting and antisemitic violence at Cornell University,” Hochul said in a post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. 

“This individual is currently in New York State Police custody for questioning,” she added. 

The development comes after posts on a discussion board made gruesome threats of violence against the Jewish community at Cornell. The posts included specific threats against the kosher dining hall on campus, prompting the building to shut down on Sunday. 

Hochul visited Cornell students on Monday in a show of solidarity with students.

“When I met with Cornell students yesterday,” she said in a subsequent post on Tuesday. “I promised them we would do everything possible to find the perpetrator.”

“Public safety is my top priority and I’m committed to combatting hate and bias wherever it rears its ugly head,” Hochul added.

The threats against Cornell’s Jewish community comes amid a rise in antisemitic incidents throughout the country. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) said last week that the surge came after Hamas’s Oct. 7 surprise attack on Israel, which killed an estimated 1,400 Israelis.

The ADL noted that it has documented 312 antisemitic incidents in the two weeks following the start of the war, which is a 388 percent increase from the same time last year.