A Chinese student at Berklee has been given a nine-month prison term for following and making threats to another Chinese student who posted pro-democracy posters at the school.
Key points:
- Xiaolei Wu, a 26-year-old attending Berklee College of Music, was given a sentence of nine months in prison and three years of supervised release, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Massachusetts. This was announced on Wednesday.
Catch up:
- In October 2022, Wu threatened to harm the individual who placed a pro-democracy notice near the Berklee campus stating “We Want Freedom” and “Stand with Chinese People.”
- Wu used WeChat, Instagram and sent an email threatening the person and her family. “Post more, I will chop your bastard hands off,” Wu wrote in one message.
- He also posted the person’s email address on the internet, reported her to a member of the Chinese government and urged others online to harass her and find her residence.
The details:
- Wu was arrested in December 2022 and later found guilty of cyberstalking, stalking and interstate transmissions of threatening communication after a four-day trial in a Boston federal court in January.
- After serving his sentence, Wu will reportedly be deported back to China.
- “Our office and the Department of Justice will not tolerate efforts to intimidate and threaten people to suppress their First Amendment rights. Censorship and repression campaigns will never be tolerated here,” said Acting US Attorney Joshua S. Levy.
- Jodi Cohen, head of the FBI’s Boston Division investigating the case, also labeled Wu’s use of China’s authoritarianism to threaten the woman as “incredibly disturbing.”
