2 Men Charged With Stalking, Trafficking US Military Tech for CCP

The crest of the US Department of Justice (DOJ) is seen at their headquarters in Washington. Andrew Kelly/File Photo/Reuters

Two men arrested for harassing critics of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) have now also been indicted by a grand jury with charges of violating the Arms Export Control Act, the Justice Department announced May 30.

Grand juries in Los Angeles and Milwaukee returned separate indictments.

“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,” Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said 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.”

Cui Guanghai, a Chinese citizen, and John Miller, a UK citizen and U.S. lawful permanent resident, were arrested in Serbia last month at the request of the U.S. government, which is seeking their extradition.

According to a criminal complaint, the two men engaged in a conspiracy to harass the people protesting Chinese leader Xi Jinping during his visit to San Francisco for the 2023 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit. Unbeknown to them, two individuals they allegedly enlisted to harass protestors were an undercover FBI agent and an FBI source.

Cui and Miller allegedly stalked the victim, enlisting others to install a tracking device in the victim’s car and slash the victim’s tires, and destroy statues the victim had made of Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, ahead of the 2023 event.

According to the indictment returned in the Central District of California, Cui and Miller participated in another similar scheme this spring, paying two other individuals about $36,000 to stop the same victim from displaying two new statues made of Xi and Ms. Peng. The two individuals enlisted were also affiliated with the FBI.

If convicted, they face a maximum of five years in prison for conspiracy and five years for interstate stalking.

“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,” FBI deputy director Dan Bongino said in a statement. “The same individuals also are charged with trying to obtain and export sensitive U.S. military technology to China.”

A separate grand jury in the Eastern District of Wisconsin returned an indictment alleging Cui and Miller solicited the procurement of U.S. missiles, air defense radar, drones, and cryptographic devices for unlawful export to China beginning in November 2023.

Cui and Miller consulted two individuals on how to export the cryptographic device, “including concealing the device in a blender, small electronics, or motor starter, and shipping the device first to Hong Kong.” They paid $10,000 for the cryptographic device.

If convicted, they face 20 years in prison for violating the Arms Export Control Act and 10 years for smuggling.