A professor at Haverford College who was previously named in a lawsuit about alleged antisemitism on campus was criminally charged with cyberstalking a coworker through a series of threatening, antisemitic messages sent from anonymous accounts, including that the "end of American jews is close."
In a federal indictment unsealed Oct. 6, Guangtian Ha, a religion professor at the Pennsylvania liberal arts college, is accused of not only repeatedly calling for exterminating Jewish people, but also posting the coworker's home address and threatening the coworker's infant child by name.
Since Hamas' attack against Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and Israel's subsequent war in Gaza, Haverford College has faced accusations from the Trump administration and members
of Congress that it failed to ensure a safe environment for all of its Jewish and Israeli students.
In August, the college settled a lawsuit brought by a group of Jewish students, faculty, alumni and parents over allegations that the college violated anti-discrimination law by failing to ensure Jewish students could participate in college life without fear of harassment "if they express beliefs about Israel that are anything less than eliminationist."
As part of that settlement, the college pledged to require annual antisemitism awareness training for students and faculty. It also stated publicly that criticism of Zionism that's used as a proxy for discriminating against a person or group based on their identity would violate college policies.
Ha was one of the members of the Haverford community identified in the criticisms of the college. According to the Jewish group's lawsuit, Ha authored posts in August 2024 stating that the only way to deal with Zionists "is to stop talking to them" and that "Zionism is Nazism, it is fascism. Zionists are racists."
According to court records from the new criminal case, Ha sent anonymous messages toward his coworker that explicitly targeted Jewish identity. The alleged messages were posted as replies to his coworker's posts on X.
"Let there be an October 7 all day every day. Make it 6 million. Exterminate the jews," Ha allegedly said in one message. Approximately 6 million Jewish people were killed during the Holocaust.
"There is nothing wrong to hate the jews. All normal Americans should, and I am glad to see more are waking up to the demonic evil of the jews," Ha allegedly said in another message.
In one message, Ha demonstrated he was aware that the colleague had taken new security measures at his home after Ha's initial messages, according to the indictment.
"Blurring your home on google map and installing a security camera next to your mailbox won’t help," Ha allegedly stated.
The coworker's spouse twice moved out of their home with their three small children as a result of the posts, according to a Justice Department court filing asking for for Ha to be kept detained ahead of trial. The couple also didn't allow their children to play in the front yard or wait for the school bus, the DOJ said.
In a statement about the arrest, Haverford College President Wendy Raymond said she was "deeply distressed by these allegations" and that any harassment or discrimination based on someone's identity "has no place at Haverford." Ha has been placed on administrative leave and barred from campus while the criminal process unfolds, she said.
Raymond was also called to testify at a congressional hearing in May 2025 about antisemitism on college campuses, and stated: "I recognize that we haven't always succeeded in living up to our ideals" and "I remain committed to addressing antisemitism and all issues that harm our community members."
Ha didn't have a lawyer listed in court records, and USA TODAY was unable to reach him for comment.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Haverford College professor charged with antisemitic cyberstalking
