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Xiaolei Wu, 25, is charged with stalking and is expected to make his first appearance in court on Wednesday afternoon, the US attorney for Massachusetts said.
In October, a person posted fliers around the prestigious music college that said "Stand with Chinese People" and "We Want Democracy."
Investigators said that the flyer enraged Wu so much that he began sending threats to the poster via the messaging app WeChat.
Those threats included:
@[Individual 1] don’t you fucking post reactionary postersFucking tear [tore] all of them you bastardYou go to post them at Tian’anmen SquarePost more, I will chop your bastard hand(s) off…Let barklee [sic] bite your hand(s) offNot killed by pandemic but about to be killed by Public Security
Wu also told them that he'd contacted the public security agency in China about the victim's family and that they should expect a visit from government thugs. Officials also allege that Wu tried to get the victim's personal information and posted their email address to encourage others to send hateful messages.
Wu faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted.
“The Department of Justice will always defend the right to engage in free speech and political expression," United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins. " We allege that Mr. Wu’s threatening and harassing behavior was not free speech. Rather, it was an attempt to silence and intimidate the activist’s expressed views dissenting of the (People's Republic of China)."
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