A British man was charged for pretending to have American military technology to China and organize the harassment and harassment of a Beijing critic.
John Miller, 63, and the Chinese national Cui Guanghai was charged on Friday by the great federal juries of Milwaukee and Los Angeles.
The Ministry of Justice said that they had been accused of interstate harassment and conspiracy to commit interstate harassment and the conspiracy, smuggling and violations of the law on arms export control.
Vice-procurer General Todd Blanche said: “As alleged, the defendants targeted an American resident for exercising his constitutional right to freedom of expression and conspired to American military technology sensitive to Chinese regime.”
“This is a blatant assault on both our national security and our democratic values.”
“The accused would have plotted to harass and interfere with an individual who criticized the actions of the People’s Republic of China while exercising his rights of freedom of expression protected by the Constitution in the United States of America,” added the deputy director of FBI Dan Bongino.
The indictment indicates that the pair installed a follow -up system on the victim’s car and cut its tires.
They would also have bought and destroyed artistic statues created by the victim representing President XI and the wife of President XI.
Cui, 43, and Miller paid two other $ 36,500 (£ 27,100) to convince the victim to stop displaying his statues online, adds the indictment.
Cui and Miller risk the following maximum sanctions if they are convicted: five years in prison for conspiracy; Five years in prison for interstate harassment; 20 years in prison for violation of the law on arms control; And 10 years in prison for smuggling.
The two men are in Serbia and the United States coordinate with Serbian officials concerning extractions.
A spokesperson for the foreign offices of the Commonwealth and Development said: “We provide consular assistance to a British national after his arrest in Serbia in April and we are in contact with the local authorities and his family.”