Crime

Former Berklee student sent to prison for threatening pro-Chinese democracy student

A federal jury convicted Xiaolei Wu, a 26-year-old citizen of the People's Republic of China, in January on charges of cyberstalking and interstate transmissions of threatening communication.

April 25, 2024

1 minute to read

A judge sentenced a former Berklee College of Music student this week on charges that he launched a campaign to stalk and threaten a victim who promoted freedom and democracy in China.

Xiaolei Wu, a 26-year-old citizen of the People’s Republic of China, faces nine months in prison and three years of supervised release, following his sentencing on Wednesday.

A federal jury convicted Wu in January on charges of cyberstalking and interstate transmissions of threatening communication.

The threats started around Oct. 22, 2022 when the victim posted a flier near the Berklee campus that read “Stand with Chinese People,” “We Want Freedom,” and “We Want Democracy,” according to a release from Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy’s office. Almost immediately, Wu began making threats to the victim via WeChat, email, and Instagram, including saying “Post more, I will chop your bastard hands off,” prosecutors said.

Wu also allegedly told the victim he had alerted a public security agency in China and that the agency would “greet” the victim’s family, the release noted.

Meanwhile, Wu publicly posted the victim’s email address, encouraging others to not only join in on the online abuse, but to also help figure out where the victim lived, prosecutors said.

Additionally, Wu told the victim that he shared the victim’s information with a member of the Chinese government, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.

“He harnessed the fear of potential retribution from the PRC government to harass and threaten an innocent individual who had posted an innocuous, pro-democracy flier on the Berklee campus,” Levy added in a statement on Wu’s actions.

“Mr. Wu’s violent threats achieved his goal of instilling fear in his effort to silence this brave victim and others who might want to speak out against the PRC government,” the U.S. attorney said. “Our office and the Department of Justice will not tolerate efforts to intimidate and threaten people to suppress their First Amendment rights. Censorship and repression campaigns will never be tolerated here.”

Heather Alterisio

Senior Content Producer

Heather Alterisio, a senior content producer, joined Boston.com in 2022 after working for more than five years as a general assignment reporter at newspapers in Massachusetts.