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From Breitbart: Five Chinese nationals were indicted on federal charges on Wednesday for conspiracy, lying to federal investigators, and destroying records pertaining to their strange midnight visit to a Michigan Army National Guard base in August 2023.
The defendants, who were University of Michigan students at the time, were caught with cameras near a major National Guard live-fire training exercise at Camp Grayling. The exercise, dubbed “Northern Strike,” involved military vehicles and classified communications equipment. Visiting personnel from Taiwan were involved in the drills.
The indictment filed on Wednesday did not pertain to the suspicious activities of the students near the military base, but rather to the false statements they gave investigators. When they were approached by a National Guard officer after bypassing abundant caution tape and “no trespassing” signs to enter the Northern Strike area, the five Chinese nationals falsely claimed to be members of the media, then fled the area.
Local law enforcement soon discovered the five had booked themselves into a motel in Grayling, seemingly for the purpose of observing the military exercise.
More from CBS News:
Four months later, one of the men was interviewed by border officers at the Detroit airport before traveling to South Korea and China. He told investigators that he and others had taken a trip to northern Michigan “to see shooting stars,” the FBI said.
A check of his external hard drive revealed two images of military vehicles taken on the same night of the encounter with the National Guard officer, the FBI said.
The other four men were interviewed last March after arriving in Chicago on a flight from Iceland. They acknowledged being in northern Michigan in August 2023, but they said it was to see a meteor shower, the FBI said.
The five are accused of misleading investigators about the trip and conspiring to clear their phones of photos. https://t.co/lVJ7Bx7eQw
— CBS Detroit (@CBSDetroit) October 2, 2024
Republican Rep. John Moolenaar of Michigan posted a chilling warning:
This case shows once again that CCP espionage can happen anywhere in America and we must be vigilant. For national security reasons, Governor Whitmer and the legislature must revoke state funding for Gotion immediately.
The CCP obviously has an interest in Camp Grayling and this is further evidence it would be a mistake for Michigan leaders to allow Gotion to build in our state. State funding for Gotion’s plan to bring Chinese nationals to Mecosta County is an open invitation for more spying.
The CCP obviously has an interest in Camp Grayling and this is further evidence it would be a mistake for Michigan leaders to allow Gotion to build in our state. State funding for Gotion’s plan to bring Chinese nationals to Mecosta County is an open invitation for more spying.
— Rep. John Moolenaar (@RepMoolenaar) October 2, 2024
As chairman of the Select Committee on the CCP, I recently issued a report on research at our nation’s universities. All of our universities must shut down their joint institutes with Chinese universities, and enact stricter guardrails on emerging technology research.
American universities must realize they are a target for espionage and protect the critical taxpayer-funded research they do.
American universities must realize they are a target for espionage and protect the critical taxpayer-funded research they do.
— Rep. John Moolenaar (@RepMoolenaar) October 2, 2024
5 Chinese nationals charged with covering up midnight trip to US military site https://t.co/osLxzyyBYY
— South China Morning Post (@SCMPNews) October 2, 2024
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