San Jose State University student arrested for hoaxes

A graduate student studying data science at San Jose State University was arrested in connection to several hoaxes and false threats made against SJSU that disrupted classes.

Ziheng “Tony” Fang, 30, of San Jose, was arrested on federal charges filed July 9. The student is accused of writing threatening and hateful messages on pieces of paper, and taping the messages to bathroom walls on campus. Fang had access to buildings where key cards were required, prosecutors said.

One note, found on November 5, 2025, and began with “!Warning! Mass bomb next week,” a photograph released by the U.S. Attorney’s Office shows.

Prosecutors said a second note was also discovered on the wall of the same bathroom, reading, “Mass bombing 11/11 and 11/12 guess,” and included racist comments against several ethnic groups.

Since October 2024, the SJSU Police Department recorded more than 20 instances of hateful and threatening messages written in men’s and gender-neutral restrooms on campus. “These messages included threats specifying a particular date that an attack was allegedly intended to take place and/or weapons and methods that would be used such as bombs, knives, and shooting,” U.S. Attorney’s Office stated.

Read more: KRON