Five Chinese nationals who claimed they visited a U.S. military site to watch a meteor shower in August of 2023 are now facing federal charges. The U.S. government said that on Tuesday, Oct. 1, the men covered up their true intentions.
The men are now charged with lying to investigators, “conspiracy and destruction, alteration or falsification of records in federal investigations.” U.S. authorities say the men, who were University of Michigan students at the time, secretly took photos of military vehicles at Camp Grayling in Michigan.
A U.S. sergeant major reportedly found the group of men in a heavily restricted area near the base during one the United States largest National Guard exercises known as Northern Strike. The drills included U.S. military from across the country and members of the Taiwanese military.
The five men were reportedly wearing “headlamps” and had cameras with them at the time of their encounter with the U.S. soldier, and claimed they were “media” there to see “shooting stars,” the sergeant major said in an affidavit. He then ordered them to leave and followed them to a hotel where they checked in.
Later that year, the men were interviewed by U.S. Border Protection and Customs officers and all but one of them mentioned the encounter with the U.S. soldier.
Investigators found one of the men in possession of two images of military vehicles on an external hard drive. The pictures were reportedly taken two hours before running into the U.S. sergeant major.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) also discovered messages on WeChat, a Chinese messaging app, talking about whether to erase the photos or not. FBI agents believe the group talked about their encounter and tried to align their stories while deleting incriminating pictures.
U.S. authorities say the men are not yet in custody but if they enter the United States, they will be arrested.
