SYRACUSE, N.Y. — The Cornell University student from Pittsford accused of posting violent anti-Semitic threats online pleaded guilty in federal court Wednesday afternoon — but he denies that he meant to carry those threats out.

Patrick Dai was arrested at the end of October for threatening violence against Jewish students at Cornell. He posted online threats of a mass shooting and other violence.

Dai already has spent about six months behind bars as his case worked through the courts. As part of the plea, prosecutors want him to spend between 15 and 21 more months in jail for what they’re calling a hate crime.

The defense is arguing that Dai didn’t actually mean it when he made his posts.

The 21-year-old Pittsford native was a junior at Cornell when, on Oct. 28, he made several posts in an online forum, just two weeks after the start of the Israel-Hamas war.

Dai threatened to behead Jewish babies, slit the throat of Jewish men, and rape and throw Jewish women off a cliff. He also threatened to shoot up a kosher dining hall and shoot Jewish students on campus.

He did this under many usernames — and one was “hamas.”

His lawyer Lisa Peebles says Dai never actually meant those things — and that since this trial started, he was diagnosed with autism.

She says he was moved by the bombings in Israel and wanted to show the world that Hamas is evil.

Prosecutors declined to speak with News 10NBC.

“This defendant is being held accountable for vile, abhorrent, antisemitic threats of violence levied against members of the Cornell University Jewish community,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division stated in a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office. “In the elevated threat environment that we have seen since Oct. 7th, we have been vigilant and stand ready to hold perpetrators of hate crimes accountable. Antisemitic threats of violence are unacceptable in our society, and we will not tolerate this conduct. Particularly at institutions of higher learning, people should feel safe to pursue educational opportunities. The Justice Department takes seriously our obligation to protect students from hatred and harassment and will continue to use every tool available to ensure that students are able to feel safe and secure.”

For his charge of interstate threatening communications, the maximum sentence was five years in prison. But as part of the deal, prosecutors are asking for those 15 to 21 months. Those guidelines operate under the assumption that this is a hate crime.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, he also could face a fine of up to $250,000 and a maximum of three years of supervised release.

But Peebles argues this was not a hate crime, just a bad choice. Between that, Dai’s remorse, and his time already spent, she’s hoping he could walk at his sentencing.

Dai, who remains unenrolled at Cornell, will be sentenced on Aug. 12.