Student faces federal charges after threats disrupted university operations.
Federal authorities have arrested a San Jose State University graduate student in connection with a series of threatening and hateful messages that have been causing fear across the campus and have led to major disruptions to student living over the past several months. According to the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), 30-year-old Ziheng “Tony” Fang of San Jose was taken into custody on a federal charge involving a campus threat. He appeared in federal court in San Jose after investigators connected him to one of the messages that appeared late last year.
Court records state that a message was discovered on November 5, 2025, inside a men’s restroom at the university. The note contained language of a campus threat involving a future bombing and Nazi symbols. Investigators later found Fang’s fingerprint on the paper, according to the criminal complaint filed in the case. Authorities also reported that another unsettling message was found in the same restroom at about the same time. That note contained hateful language directed at several racial, ethnic, and religious groups and referred to a possible mass bombing on specific dates.
The investigation expanded beyond those messages. Law enforcement officials said university police had documented more than 20 threatening and hateful writings in restrooms across the campus beginning in October 2024. Many of the messages referred to planned attacks and mentioned weapons such as bombs, knives, or firearms. Several included exact dates when violence was supposedly going to occur.
The repeated threats created an atmosphere of fear throughout the entire university community. Students, faculty members, and staff were frequently alerted about potential dangers. School officials issued warnings before dates mentioned in the messages so the campus community could be aware of possible risks.
Investigators spent months reviewing evidence to determine who might be responsible. According to the complaint, access records from campus buildings became an important part of the case. Officials found that Fang had entered buildings before the discovery of threatening messages in those buildings in 16 of the 18 incidents where electronic key card access records were available. Authorities also noted that the only person with a comparable number of entries into the same places was a university employee whose job duties required access to numerous buildings across campus. Investigators said Fang did not have a similar work-related reason to be present in those locations.
Surveillance footage also played a role in the investigation. According to court documents, cameras captured Fang entering or leaving restroom areas connected to some of the threatening messages. In several cases, the activity occurred within a day of the messages being discovered. Fang remains in federal custody while the legal process moves forward.
The case has drawn attention because of the long period during which the messages appeared and the effect they had on university operations. Authorities contend that the threats disrupted normal activities across the campus. Although investigators believe they have identified the person responsible, the complaint only represents allegations at this stage, and the defendant is considered innocent until proven guilty.
Sources:
Graduate Student Arrested for Hateful and Threatening Message at San Jose State University
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