A Chinese citizen who is a student at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, was convicted on Thursday of threatening a person who posted a flier in support of democracy in the Asian country, authorities said.
The flier that was posted near the Berklee College of Music campus in Boston on October 22 read: “Stand with Chinese People,” and other statements including: “We Want Freedom” and “We Want Democracy,” the US Attorney’s Office in Boston said in a news release.
In response, Xiaolei Wu, 26, threatened to chop off the person’s hands; reported their family to China’s public security agency; asked others to find out where the person was living, and publicly posted the person’s email address, the release said.
The person who posted the flier is a permanent US resident originally from China who has family members still living there, the Attorney’s Office said.
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Wu was convicted of one count of stalking and one count of interstate transmissions of threatening communication. Each charge carries a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to US$250,000.
Wu’s lawyer did not respond to an email requesting comment.
“No one in this country should ever be subjected to threats of violence or a cyberstalking harassment campaign for expressing their political views,” Acting United States Attorney Joshua S Levy said in a statement.
“Mr Wu now stands as a convicted felon for his illegal efforts to suppress speech by a fellow Berklee School of Music student who was critical of the government of China. This type of conduct will never be tolerated.”
