News Blog
DOJ Announces Charges Related to Malign Activity from Chinese Government Agents
October 24, 2022
The Department of Justice today announced a number of actions against people associated with the Chinese government who are accused of violating U.S. law.
Those charged include:
- Four Chinese nationals who allegedly tried to recruit American professors and other officials to act as agents of the Chinese government.
- Seven Chinese nationals who are accused of targeting and harassing people living in the United States to attempt to force them to return to China.
- Two Chinese intelligence officers who allegedly tried to use bribes and espionage to obstruct a criminal prosecution in New York.
The FBI supported the investigations into all three cases as part of its counterintelligence work.
At the press conference, FBI Director Christopher Wray noted that although the three cases may appear unrelated, each shows that the Chinese government is willing to run over international laws as they seek to assert their authoritarian views. “In all three of these cases, and in thousands of others, we’ve found the Chinese government threatening established democratic norms and the rule of law as they work to undermine U.S. economic security and fundamental human rights–including those of Americans,” Wray said.
See more about how the FBI is working to protect fundamental freedoms from Chinese government attacks.
Related content:
- Two Arrested and 13 Charged in Three Separate Cases for Alleged Participation in Malign Schemes in the United States on Behalf of the Government of the People’s Republic of China
- Remarks from FBI Director Christopher Wray
- Understand the China Threat
- See how China targets individuals through transnational repression
The FBI is committed to ensuring a safe election in 2022 by investigating threats against election workers and cyber threats against campaigns or elections, FBI officials told law enforcement partners Wednesday in a conference call.
Protecting election workers from threats or intimidation is a necessary part of safeguarding the election, an FBI official said. The FBI never investigates First Amendment-protected speech, but it does investigate threats of violence.
The FBI has taken a number of steps to prepare for a safe election in 2022:
- The FBI and Department of Justice created a Threats to Election Workers Task Force, which identifies and investigates threats against election workers.
- Election crimes coordinators (at least two agents or analysts in each FBI field office) are working with partners in the private sector, law enforcement, and state and local government to ensure a collaborative response to any election threats.
- The FBI has prepared for election threats in scenario-based exercises.
- The FBI will have command posts at FBI Headquarters and in its field offices to respond effectively to any election-related incident within its purview.
Additionally, an FBI Cyber official told the law enforcement leaders the FBI is closely monitoring any cyber threats against election or campaign infrastructure.
The FBI encouraged local governments to maintain strong cyber hygiene on their networks going into the election, including strong passwords, multi-factor authentication, and patching for vulnerabilities.
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