Two foreign nationals have been indicted for plotting to silence a U.S. dissident and smuggle U.S. military technology to China, according to the Justice Department.
Cui Guanghai, 43, of China, and John Miller, 63, of the United Kingdom and a U.S. lawful permanent resident, were charged with “interstate stalking and conspiracy to commit interstate stalking (Los Angeles) and conspiracy, smuggling, and violations of the Arms Export Control Act (Milwaukee),” the DOJ announced on Friday.
“As alleged, the defendants targeted a U.S. resident for exercising his constitutional right to free speech and conspired to traffic sensitive American military technology to the Chinese regime,” said Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche in a statement.
“This is a blatant assault on both our national security and our democratic values. This Justice Department will not tolerate foreign repression on U.S. soil, nor will we allow hostile nations to infiltrate or exploit our defense systems. We will act decisively to expose and dismantle these threats wherever they emerge,” he added.
FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino said the defendants “allegedly plotted to harass and interfere with an individual who criticized the actions of the People’s Republic of China while exercising their constitutionally protected free speech rights within the United States of America.”
The FBI’s No. 2 official also said that the two individuals were charged with “trying to obtain and export sensitive U.S. military technology to China.”
