A senior official within the Trump administration has revealed details of a potential terrorist attack that was going to take place on our soil, carried out by two Chinese researchers. The two individuals, Yunqing Jian, 33, and Zunyong Liu, 34, were both apprehended and later charged with conspiracy, smuggling goods into the U.S., false statements, and visa fraud.
The alleged intent of the attack was to release a fungus into farms that would massively disrupt America’s food supply. A news release from the Justice Department said the two researchers are being accused of “smuggling into America a fungus called Fusarium graminearum, which scientific literature classifies as a potential agroterrorism weapon.”
According to the release, the communist government of China was footing the bill for Jian’s research in their country. The complaint stated that when law enforcement officials scanned her electronic devices, they discovered documentation that proved she was a member of the Chinese Communist Party.
Liu, who claims to be Jian’s boyfriend, was also doing research on the pathogen. He later admitted to authorities that he smuggled Fusarium graminearum into our country in order to do research with Jian.
A Trump official said, “This is an attack on the American food supply.”
While a strain of the fungus already exists in the United States, a strain that has been manipulated by experimentation could cause major problems. Lawmakers said they believe the fungus was smuggled into the country as part of a plot.
“The CCP will use every tool in its warfare toolbox to cripple the United States and bring us to our knees. A pathogen like this, if successfully introduced into a crop, could inflict significant economic loss for U.S. agriculture producers,” Republican House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rick Crawford of Arkansas said in comments on the situation.
“We are very fortunate the Trump administration and federal law enforcement stopped this potential bioweapon before it compromised our nation’s food supply,” Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) said.
“This is exactly why I have always said and will continue to say — food security is national security. Between this latest bioweapon and China’s highly concerning purchases of U.S. farmland around our military bases, we must stay on guard against the threat from Communist China in our own backyard,” she further elaborated.
An unnamed national security source spoke with the New York Post about the potential effects of the fungus, saying, “The bacteria infects wheat, barley, corn, and rice. When it does, it can devastate crops.”
“The key question is if the bacterial strain being brought in has been modified to make it resistant to treatment or to make it more pathogenic,” the source continued.
Liu first came to the attention of federal authorities in July 2024 when it was discovered that his luggage concealed the fungus, according to The Western Journal. Liu admitted that he was planning to clone strains of the pathogens he carried. He was, of course, denied entry into the country.
FBI Special Agent Edward Nieh said that Jian professed her dedication to one principle, the “upholding of Mao Zedong thought and Marxism-Leninism.” Jian was taken into custody on Tuesday of this week.
Liu is still on the loose.
