Patel sounds alarm as Chinese nationals charged with smuggling 'agroterrorism agent' into US: 'direct threat'

FBI Director Kash Patel told Fox News Digital that the case involving two Chinese nationals who were charged Tuesday with allegedly smuggling a "dangerous biological pathogen" into the U.S. to study at the University of Michigan laboratory demonstrates a serious national security threat to America's food supply. 

"This case is a sobering reminder that the Chinese Communist Party continues to deploy operatives and researchers to infiltrate our institutions and target our food supply, an act that could cripple our economy and endanger American lives," Patel told Fox in a statement. "Smuggling a known agroterrorism agent into the U.S. is not just a violation of law, it’s a direct threat to national security. I commend the FBI Detroit Division and our partners at CBP for stopping this biological threat before it could do real damage."