Attorney General Merrick Garland on Monday held a news conference announcing three recent investigations and several arrests against individuals associated with the People’s Republic of China – and warned the United States would “continue to fiercely protect the rights guaranteed to everyone in our country.”

What You Need To Know

  • Attorney General Merrick Garland on Monday held a news conference announcing three recent investigations and several arrests against individuals associated with the People’s Republic of China

  • The first case, out of the Eastern District of New York, pertained to actions taken in 2019 when two individuals attempted to “obstruct influence and impede a criminal prosecution of a PRC-based telecommunications company”

  • The second, unrelated case came out of the District of New Jersey, which charged four individuals with “conspiring to act in the United States as illegal agents on behalf of a foreign government”

  • The final case, also out of the Eastern District of New York, charged seven Chinese nationals with a plot that would “cause the forced repatriation of a PRC national residing in the United States"

Two individuals were arrested and a total of 13 were charged in connection to three separate cases. 

A morning bulletin from the DOJ did not discuss the nature of the announcement, but said in a release it would pertain to “significant national security cases addressing malign influence schemes and alleged criminal activity by a nation-state actor in the United States.” 

“Over the past week, the Justice Department has taken several actions to disrupt criminal activity by individuals working on behalf of the government of the People's Republic of China,” Garland said Monday afternoon. 

“As these cases demonstrate, the government of China sought to interfere with the rights and freedoms of individuals in the United States and to undermine our judicial system that protects those rights,” he continued. “They did not succeed. The Justice Department will not tolerate attempts by any foreign power to undermine the rule of law upon which our democracy is based.” 

The first case, out of the Eastern District of New York, pertained to actions taken between 2017 - 2019 when two individuals attempted to “obstruct influence and impede a criminal prosecution of a PRC-based telecommunications company.” Though officials would not reveal the name of the company, numerous outlets have reported the case is related to Huawei, which was accused by the Justice Department of racketeering and conspiracy to steal trade secrets. 

The defendants allegedly “directed an employee at a U.S. government law enforcement agency to steal confidential information about the United States criminal prosecution of the company,” Garland said in part, noting that the recruited individual worked as a double-agent alongside the U.S government to identify the individuals requesting the classified information. The defendants remain at large, officials said Monday.

The second, unrelated case came out of the District of New Jersey, which charged four individuals – three of which were Ministry of State Security intelligence officers – with “conspiring to act in the United States as illegal agents on behalf of a foreign government” in a scheme that allegedly lasted from 2008 - 2018. 

The defendants also allegedly attempted “to stop protected First Amendment activities, protests here in the United States, which would have been embarrassing to the Chinese government,” Garland said Monday. 

The final case, also out of the Eastern District of New York, charged seven Chinese nationals with a plot that would “cause the forced repatriation of a PRC national residing in the United States,” per the DOJ. Dubbed “Operation Fox Hunt,” individuals affiliated with China have long been known to engage in a “global, concerted, and extralegal repatriation effort” via campaigns “to harass, stalk, and coerce certain residents of the U.S. to return to the People’s Republic of China,” FBI director Christopher Wray said in announcing similar actions in 2020.

Two defendants – Quanzhong An and Guangyang An – were arrested last Thursday, while the other five defendants remain at large.

Garland was joined by a number of senior Justice Department officials, including FBI Director Christopher Wray, Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco, Assistant Attorney General for National Security Matthew G. Olsen and others.

“As the Attorney General has laid out, the cases unsealed today take place against a backdrop of malign activity from the People's Republic of China,” deputy attorney general Monaco said Monday. “That includes espionage, harassment, obstruction of our justice system, and unceasing efforts to steal sensitive U.S. technology.”

While the actions announced Monday spanned three separate cases, FBI director Wray stressed each case “lays bare the Chinese government's flagrant violation of international laws as they work to project their authoritarian view around the world, including within our own borders.” 

Monday’s announcements from the Justice Department came on the heels of China’s president Xi Jinping awarded himself another term as leader of the ruling Communist Party, potentially setting up the prospect of more tension with China over trade, security and human rights.

On Sunday, Xi was awarded a third five-year term as party leader in a break with tradition that called for him to step down after 10 years. The party named a seven-member ruling Standing Committee of Xi and his allies, which gives him a free hand to carry out his plans. 

Xi has tightened control at home and is trying to use China’s economic heft to increase its influence abroad. Washington accused Beijing this month of trying to undermine U.S. alliances, global security and economic rules. Activists say Xi’s government wants to deflect criticism of abuses by changing the U.N.’s definition of human rights.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.