Months after hateful graffiti and threatening messages were found at San José State, an SJSU graduate student was arrested and was only recently released on bail.
Law enforcement arrested Ziheng “Tony” Fang, an SJSU graduate student, in late May before the Department of Justice formally announced so on July 13.
The arrest follows an extensive investigation that began in November of 2025, led by the SJSU University Police Department, local and state authorities and the FBI.
A criminal complaint and court documents were filed on July 9 that claimed Fang, 30, wrote a hateful message on a plastic-covered sheet that he taped inside a men’s restroom on campus, according to a July 13 Office of Public Affairs press release.
As of publication, Fang has been released on a $15,000 bond, according to a July 13 Mercury News article.
“!WARNING! MASS BOMB NEXT WEEK, EAT PIGS NOT DOGS! KILL ALL MUSLIMS + CHINKS, MAGA 2028, KILL ZOHRAN,” the message reads.
Michelle Smith McDonald, SJSU’s senior director of communications, said the incidents deeply affected the campus community.
“The identification of a suspect and pursuit of serious criminal charges resulted from an extensive investigation led by the San José State University Police Department (UPD) in partnership with local, state and federal law enforcement agencies,” McDonald said. “Our Jewish and Muslim students, faculty and staff experienced these hateful acts in deeply personal ways.”
Only until July 10 did Fang make an appearance in a federal court in San José.
The United State District Court ruled that Fang is facing one federal charge of false information and hoaxes, which means he could be subject to five years in prison, 3 years of supervised release, $250,000 fine and $100 special assessment, according to the criminal complaint.
The hateful remarks were originally discovered on Nov. 5, 2025, according to the same source.
The complaint stated Fang was seen on surveillance footage entering and exiting bathrooms around a day before their discovery.
Investigators also alleged that Fang used his SJSU key card to access campus buildings where threatening messages were later discovered, according to a United States Attorney’s Office press release.
Surveillance footage and university access records were used together to place him near several of the affected restrooms shortly before the graffiti was found.
Community Safety Alerts were sent to SJSU students on March 24, 25 and 26, as well as April 3, 8 and 28. These alerts were sent university wide and warned of new graffiti and threats being found on campus, as well as threats to the campus community.
Additionally, Fang is accused of other incidents on campus that involve racist and discriminatory language inside student housing, racial slurs and politically motivated threats of violence in MacQuarrie Hall and a threat of violence inside a MacQuarrie Hall bathroom on March 4 that indicated violence would be perpetrated on March 11, according to an SJSU Marketing and Communications webpage.
SJSU President Cynthia Teniente-Matson sent an email on May 21 announcing the arrest of a suspect.
“Over the last several months, our community has also experienced multiple incidents of graffiti containing antisemitic, Islamophobic, racial and/or discriminatory slurs,” the email read. “Yesterday, the San José State University Police Department arrested a suspect believed to be responsible for the graffiti. … Every Spartan and visitor deserves to feel welcome and safe at San José State University.”
Court records indicate Fang has been released a bail and a future court date has not been publicly announced as of publication.
