The U.S. Department of Justice announced this week that Ziheng “Tony” Fang, a graduate student at San José State University in California, was arrested on suspicion of spreading threatening and hateful messages across campus for months, including calls to murder Jews and bomb threats.
According to a federal criminal complaint, Fang, 30, allegedly posted a message on a men’s restroom wall at the university in November 2025 that read, among other things: “Warning! Mass bomb next week,” alongside several swastikas. Another message found in the same restroom read: “Kill all Jews, Muslims, chinks (a derogatory slur for Chinese people) and Mexicans,” and included a threat of a “mass bombing” on November 11 and 12.
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Fang, 30, allegedly posted this message on a men’s restroom wall at the university in November 2025
(Photo: US Department of Justice)
According to authorities, Fang’s fingerprint was found on one of the pages. In addition, FBI investigators gathered evidence showing that he entered buildings where the hate messages were found in 16 of 18 cases that required access card entry. Security cameras also recorded him entering and leaving the restrooms where some of the messages were discovered, shortly before they were found.
The complaint alleges that since October 2024, university police documented more than 20 threatening messages written in restrooms across campus. Many included dates for alleged attacks, along with references to bombs, knives and shootings.
The FBI took part in the investigation
(Photo: Shutterstock)
The threats led university officials to repeatedly send alerts to students and employees by email and text message. Some faculty members chose to cancel classes or hold them online, while many students and employees feared coming to campus. According to the complaint, on the days when the alleged attacks were supposed to take place, some university buildings resembled a “ghost town.”
Fang, who is studying for a master’s degree in data science, appeared for the first time in a San José federal court on Friday last week. He is being held in federal custody.
The FBI and San José State University Police Department participated in the investigation. The Justice Department emphasized that the complaint contains allegations only at this stage and that Fang is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.