Guangtian Ha, an assistant professor of religion at Haverford College, was arrested Tuesday on federal cyberstalking and harassment charges following an investigation into a months-long campaign of antisemitic threats directed at a Jewish colleague at the Pennsylvania liberal arts college.
According to a federal indictment filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Ha allegedly used at least four anonymous social media accounts on the platform X to send approximately 50 threatening messages to the colleague between October 9, 2025, and May 20, 2026. The messages included antisemitic slurs, references to the Holocaust, and statements threatening violence. In one message, Ha allegedly wrote, "The end of American jews is close. Let's start with the jews in Lower Merion," referring to the township where Haverford is located. In another, he wrote, "If jews are so special then they should also be placed in special camps and receive special treatments," according to court documents cited by multiple outlets.
Prosecutors alleged that Ha posted his colleague's home address online, identified the colleague's infant child by name, shared photos of the family's mailbox, and made statements suggesting real-time observation of the home. The targeted colleague's spouse and three children fled their home on two separate occasions due to the threats, according to reporting by The Philadelphia Inquirer. The FBI traced the anonymous accounts to Ha using his internet protocol address. He faces up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and fines if convicted.
Haverford College President Wendy Raymond condemned the alleged conduct in a statement released Tuesday. "I am heartbroken and furious at the possibility that an individual within our community would seek to inflict such pain on another," Raymond said. "This disturbing news is made even more harmful for many given its proximity to both the Jewish High Holidays and the third anniversary of the October 7 attacks." The college placed Ha on administrative leave and barred him from campus pending the outcome of criminal proceedings. Raymond noted that Ha was already on sabbatical leave and not teaching during the current academic year.
The arrest follows earlier allegations against Ha documented in a 2024 antisemitism lawsuit against Haverford College. In a January 2025 amended complaint, Jewish students accused Ha of publishing hostile social media posts about Israel supporters, including statements such as "I will never forgive them. I know their names and I know their faces. Never forgive. No reconciliation." The plaintiffs alleged that Haverford administrators had been informed of these posts by September 2024 but took no effective action. That earlier lawsuit did not establish unlawful conduct, and the allegations in that case remain distinct from the federal cyberstalking charge now filed.
Andrew Goretsky, senior regional director of the Anti-Defamation League Philadelphia, stated that the organization was "grateful" for Haverford's swift response. "Antisemitic harassment and threats must never be tolerated," Goretsky said in a statement Wednesday. He added: "These are allegations, and the defendant is entitled to the presumption of innocence. But if they are proven, we must ask: How could someone like this be entrusted with teaching our students?" Lori Lowenthal Marcus, legal director of the Deborah Project, told the Jewish News Syndicate that the federal charges "close the dotted line between verbal acts of harassment and actionable violence which, when Jews are the recipients, is far too often ignored."
According to the indictment, Ha allegedly used virtual private networks to obscure his IP address and make detection more difficult. The criminal process is ongoing, and Ha has not entered a plea. No trial date has been announced.
