Alleged Chinese Agent Arrested at LAX
Sen. Rick Scott (R, Fla.) posted on X: “This is only further PROOF of what we already know—they’re actively infiltrating our country and threatening our national security.”
What U.S. authorities are alleging
Authorities filed a criminal complaint against Zhang in federal court, CBS News and Fox News reported, with an affidavit from an FBI special agent.
According to a copy of the 27-page complaint Fox News obtained, Zhang, who previously attended a university in Beijing and was a registered real estate agent in Southern California, was allegedly in contact with at least two individuals apparently working for the Chinese government. Essayli, speaking to Fox News Sunday, said that Zhang was a naturalized U.S. citizen.
“She was conducting surveillance on behalf of the Chinese government,” Essayli told Fox News. “And she was spying on a relative of the President of Taiwan here in the U.S.”
Essayli, in his X post, added that Zhang “used tradecraft to avoid detection” and that “she never notified the Attorney General she was acting for a foreign government.”
