FILE PHOTO: U.S. Department of Homeland Security emblem is pictured at the National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center (NCCIC) located just outside Washington in Arlington, Virginia September 24, 2010. REUTERS/Hyungwon Kang
WASHINGTON 鈥� U.S. prosecutors charged two men tied to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as part of what federal law enforcement officials have called a 鈥渢ransnational repression scheme鈥� on behalf of the Chinese government to spy on and harass dissidents living in the United States.
Asked for comment, a spokesman for China鈥檚 embassy in Washington said it was 鈥渘ot aware of the specific situation鈥� but that Beijing 鈥渇irmly opposes acts by the U.S. that groundlessly malign and smear China.鈥�
The two men charged were Craig Miller, who has worked as a DHS deportation officer for 15 years in Minnesota, and Derrick Taylor, a retired DHS law enforcement agent now working as a private investigator in California, the U.S. Department of Justice said Thursday.
On Wednesday, a grand jury returned an indictment charging the two men and three others with crimes committed while acting as alleged Chinese agents, the department said in a statement.
鈥淲e will defend the rights of people in the United States to engage in free speech and political expression,鈥� said Assistant Attorney General for National Security Matthew Olsen. 鈥淭hese individuals aided agents of a foreign government in seeking to suppress dissenting voices who have taken refuge here.鈥�
Of the three other individuals, two were previously arrested as part of an earlier related complaint in March: Fan 鈥淔rank鈥� Liu and Matthew Ziburis. The third individual, Qiang 鈥淛ason鈥� Sun, remains at large, prosecutors for the Eastern District of New York said.
READ: US charges one American, four Chinese officials with spying
Miller and Taylor were arrested in June, they said.
The charges include obstruction of justice for allegedly destroying evidence after FBI agents asked about the use of a law enforcement database with information on U.S.-based Chinese dissidents.
The Chinese embassy spokesman, Liu Pengyu, said that China 鈥渁lways asks overseas Chinese citizens to comply with the鈥俬ost country鈥檚 laws and regulations.鈥�
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