An associate professor at Haverford College faces federal cyberstalking charges for allegedly conducting an antisemitic intimidation campaign against a Jewish colleague and his family. Prosecutors claim the professor sent messages containing antisemitic language and threats.
Guangtian Ha, a religion professor at Haverford College, was arrested on October 6. The indictment outlines serious allegations. Ha is accused of using anonymous online accounts to intimidate his colleague from October 2025 to May 2026. Messages shared included images of his Jewish colleague’s mailbox.
Lori Lowenthal Marcus, legal director of The Deborah Project, highlighted the antisemitic nature of the messages. Lowenthal Marcus pointed out that what Ha revealed in his anonymous posts focused heavily on hatred towards Jews.
“Everything I heard from Guangtian Ha was aimed at Zionists,” Marcus stated. “His anonymous posts revealed mostly hatred and death threats towards Jews.”
The concern among Jews at Haverford is that “Zionist” serves as a code word for “Jews.” On October 9, 2025, Ha allegedly used an account named “America1st33509” to reply with images of the victim’s mailbox, accompanied by an eyes emoji.
Continuing into winter 2026, Ha allegedly utilized “America1stLM” to send several threatening messages. “LM” likely refers to Lower Merion Township, a Jewish-populated area near Haverford College.
Messages sent included:
- “Jew, get out of my country.”
- “If Jews are so special, they should be placed in special camps.”
The victim and his family increased security measures, but Ha’s harassment persisted. On February 27, 2026, he allegedly mocked these efforts in another post.
In April 2026, messages became more severe, featuring the victim’s home address and threatening language such as “Your family has no future in the US.” A pro-Nazi sign-off was included in a message referring to historical persecution of Jews.
The FBI became involved in the case as threats escalated. Despite effort to conceal his actions, authorities traced messages back to Ha, using VPN methods.
Ha was detained pending trial, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Haverford College declined further comment, though President Wendy Raymond expressed distress over the case, affirming harassment and discrimination contradict college values.
“Professor Ha, on sabbatical and not teaching this academic year, was placed on administrative leave,” Raymond stated. Communications with alleged victims have occurred.
Marcus emphasized that while political discourse is protected, harassment crosses legal boundaries. “Academic freedom is not a shield for antisemitism,” she concluded.
The Deborah Project’s earlier lawsuit against Haverford cited Ha’s social media posts. Examples include veiled threats to those silent about Gaza’s situation and labeling Zionism as racist.
The indictment is expected to deter similar actions and prompt institutions to reevaluate the antisemitic nature of such threats.