Two Men Arrested For Operating Secret Chinese Police Station in NYC

Federal prosecutors in New York announced the arrest of two U.S. citizens Monday, claiming the men operated an illegal secret “police station” for the Chinese Communist Party. 

Details: Lu Jianwang, 61, and Chen Jinping, 59, were arrested at their homes Monday morning and are expected to be charged with conspiring to act as agents of China's government without informing U.S. authorities and obstruction of justice, according to Reuters. The office has been shut down, per authorities. Prosecutors said the station operated out of New York City’s Chinatown neighborhood and conducted operations aimed at identifying and silencing Chinese dissidents in the U.S. These included locating and reporting U.S. residents of Chinese descent that criticized the Chinese government, as well as operating “troll farm” operations that engaged in cyber harassment of groups critical of the Chinese government. 

Key Quotes: Breon Peace, an attorney at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York, said the operation “repeatedly and flagrantly violated our nation's sovereignty,” adding, “imagine the NYPD opening an undeclared secret police station in Beijing. It would be unthinkable.” Peace said the U.S. “cannot and will not tolerate the Chinese government's persecution of pro-democracy activists who have sought refuge in this country.”

How The Media Covered It: Outlets across the spectrum covered the arrests, but right-rated outlets tended to feature coverage more prominently. Fox News included a note under the headline that read, “RED THREAT RISING.”