Washington (AFP) – A Chinese man was convicted on Thursday of stalking and threatening a fellow student at a prestigious Boston music school who put up fliers expressing support for democracy in China.
Xiaolei Wu, 26, faces up to five years in prison for cyberstalking and a maximum of five years in prison for making threatening communications.
Sentencing has been set for April 24.
Wu, a student at the Berklee College of Music, was arrested in December 2022 after threatening another student who had put up fliers on the school’s Boston campus saying “Stand With Chinese People” and “We Want Democracy.”
Wu made a series of threats to the victim, who was not identified, via the WeChat messaging app, email and Instagram, according to the indictment.
“Among other things, Wu said, ‘Post more, I will chop your bastard hands off,'” it said.
Wu also warned the victim that he had informed the public security agency in China about her actions.
“What Xiaolei Wu did in attempting to silence and intimidate an activist who expressed dissension with the ruling Communist Party of China is not only criminal, but completely against our country’s democratic values,” FBI special agent Jodi Cohen said in a statement.
“Today’s conviction upholds one of our most fundamental rights -– freedom of speech.”
