US Professor Arrested for Alleged Antisemitic Threats Against Colleague

Guantian Ha, a Chinese-born Islamic studies researcher, is accused of sending approximately 50 threatening messages to Professor Barak Mendelson between October 2025 and May 2026. Using at least four anonymous accounts on the X platform, Ha allegedly masked his IP address to send messages containing antisemitic slurs, Holocaust references, and praise for the October 7, 2023, Hamas terror attack. The messages also included calls to drop a nuclear bomb on Tel Aviv and place Jews in "special camps."

According to the indictment, Ha doxxed Mendelson by publishing his home address, his youngest child's name, and a photo of his mailbox. The threats also referenced the family's security measures, forcing Mendelson's wife and three children to temporarily flee their home twice. The children stopped playing in the yard and waited for the school bus inside their residence out of fear.

Investigators linked the anonymous accounts to Ha's home, phone, and college network, and Ha reportedly confessed to creating them. Haverford College placed Ha on administrative leave, banned him from campus, and condemned the attacks. Ha faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted.