Latest news with #XuanyuHarryPang
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- Yahoo
Former Navy sailor pleads guilty in plot to attack Naval Station Great Lakes
CHICAGO (WGN) — A former U.S. Navy sailor faces two decades in prison after pleading guilty to plotting to attack Naval Station Great Lakes in North Chicago, allegedly on behalf of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in order to avenge the death of one of its leaders. The Justice Department says 38-year-old Xuanyu Harry Pang of North Chicago pleaded guilty in federal court in Chicago 'to conspiring to and attempting to willfully injure and destroy national defense material, national defense premises, and national defense utilities, with the intent to injure, interfere with, and obstruct the national defense of the United States.' 'Loss of confidence': Navy relieves commanding officer of USS Harry S. Truman after accident The guilty plea was unsealed Thursday. Pang is being held without bond and faces a maximum of 20 years in prison. According to court records, Pang first communicated in 2021 with 'an individual in Colombia' about assisting with a plan involving Iranians attacking the U.S. to avenge the death of Qasem Soleimani. Killed by the U.S. military in 2020, Soleimani was a general in the Quds Force, a branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. A covert FBI employee pretending to be an 'affiliate' of the Quds Force got in touch with the individual in Colombia, the DOJ says. The FBI employee was eventually connected with Pang, who was stationed at Naval Station Great Lakes at the time. 'Serial murders': Chicago man accused of killing 6 at random throughout 2020 According to the DOJ, the covert FBI employee and Pang had online encrypted conversations, during which they discussed possible targets for an attack in the Chicago area. Pang and the person in Colombia then agreed to help the covert FBI employee with an attack, court records state. In 2022, Pang also met multiple times with a person he believed to be an associate of the covert FBI employee. This person was working with the FBI as well. During the meetings, the DOJ says Pang provided photos of the Naval Station to help with their planning of the attack. He also gave them military uniforms to wear, as well as a cell phone 'that could be used as a test for a detonator,' the DOJ says. The FBI Chicago Joint Terrorism Task Force and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service are investigating the case. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- Yahoo
Former Navy sailor pleads guilty in plot to attack Naval Station Great Lakes, allegedly on behalf of Iranian group
CHICAGO (WGN) — A former U.S. Navy sailor faces two decades in prison after pleading guilty to plotting to attack Naval Station Great Lakes in North Chicago, allegedly on behalf of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in order to avenge the death of one of its leaders. The Justice Department says 38-year-old Xuanyu Harry Pang of North Chicago pleaded guilty in federal court in Chicago 'to conspiring to and attempting to willfully injure and destroy national defense material, national defense premises, and national defense utilities, with the intent to injure, interfere with, and obstruct the national defense of the United States.' 'Loss of confidence': Navy relieves commanding officer of USS Harry S. Truman after accident The guilty plea was unsealed Thursday. Pang is being held without bond and faces a maximum of 20 years in prison. According to court records, Pang first communicated in 2021 with 'an individual in Colombia' about assisting with a plan involving Iranians attacking the U.S. to avenge the death of Qasem Soleimani. Killed by the U.S. military in 2020, Soleimani was a general in the Quds Force, a branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. A covert FBI employee pretending to be an 'affiliate' of the Quds Force got in touch with the individual in Colombia, the DOJ says. The FBI employee was eventually connected with Pang, who was stationed at Naval Station Great Lakes at the time. 'Serial murders': Chicago man accused of killing 6 at random throughout 2020 According to the DOJ, the covert FBI employee and Pang had online encrypted conversations, during which they discussed possible targets for an attack in the Chicago area. Pang and the person in Colombia then agreed to help the covert FBI employee with an attack, court records state. In 2022, Pang also met multiple times with a person he believed to be an associate of the covert FBI employee. This person was working with the FBI as well. During the meetings, the DOJ says Pang provided photos of the Naval Station to help with their planning of the attack. He also gave them military uniforms to wear, as well as a cell phone 'that could be used as a test for a detonator,' the DOJ says. The FBI Chicago Joint Terrorism Task Force and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service are investigating the case. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
28-02-2025
- The Hill
Former Navy sailor pleads guilty in plot to attack Naval Station Great Lakes
CHICAGO (WGN) — A former U.S. Navy sailor faces two decades in prison after pleading guilty to plotting to attack Naval Station Great Lakes in North Chicago, allegedly on behalf of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in order to avenge the death of one of its leaders. The Justice Department says 38-year-old Xuanyu Harry Pang of North Chicago pleaded guilty in federal court in Chicago 'to conspiring to and attempting to willfully injure and destroy national defense material, national defense premises, and national defense utilities, with the intent to injure, interfere with, and obstruct the national defense of the United States.' 'Loss of confidence': Navy relieves commanding officer of USS Harry S. Truman after accident The guilty plea was unsealed Thursday. Pang is being held without bond and faces a maximum of 20 years in prison. Details of case According to court records, Pang first communicated in 2021 with 'an individual in Colombia' about assisting with a plan involving Iranians attacking the U.S. to avenge the death of Qasem Soleimani. Killed by the U.S. military in 2020, Soleimani was a general in the Quds Force, a branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. A covert FBI employee pretending to be an 'affiliate' of the Quds Force got in touch with the individual in Colombia, the DOJ says. The FBI employee was eventually connected with Pang, who was stationed at Naval Station Great Lakes at the time. 'Serial murders': Chicago man accused of killing 6 at random throughout 2020 According to the DOJ, the covert FBI employee and Pang had online encrypted conversations, during which they discussed possible targets for an attack in the Chicago area. Pang and the person in Colombia then agreed to help the covert FBI employee with an attack, court records state. In 2022, Pang also met multiple times with a person he believed to be an associate of the covert FBI employee. This person was working with the FBI as well. During the meetings, the DOJ says Pang provided photos of the Naval Station to help with their planning of the attack. He also gave them military uniforms to wear, as well as a cell phone 'that could be used as a test for a detonator,' the DOJ says. The FBI Chicago Joint Terrorism Task Force and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service are investigating the case.
CNN
28-02-2025
- CNN
Former Navy sailor pleads guilty to federal charge in plot to attack naval station
A former US Navy sailor pleaded guilty to a federal charge accusing him of a 2022 plot to attack Naval Station Great Lakes in northern Illinois, according to a plea agreement unsealed Thursday. Xuanyu Harry Pang, 38, allegedly devised a plan involving Iranian actors to conduct an attack against the US to avenge the death of Qasem Soleimani, a general of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps who was killed by a US airstrike in 2020, according to court documents. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the US in 2019. In November, Pang pleaded guilty in a Chicago federal court to conspiring to and attempting to willfully injure and destroy national defense material, national defense premises, and national defense utilities – namely Naval Station Great Lakes – with the intent to injure, interfere with, and obstruct the national defense of the US, the Department of Justice said in a news release Thursday. Pang enlisted in the United States Navy and began his training at Naval Station Great Lakes around February 2022, according to court documents. Pang faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. CNN has reached out to Pang's attorney for comment. Pang is alleged to have communicated in 2021 with an individual in Colombia about potentially assisting him with his plan, the Department of Justice said. Accorting to court records, an undercover FBI employee posing as an affiliate of the Iranian armed forces later contacted the person in Colombia about conducting an attack, and the individual put the employee in touch with Pang, who at the time in 2022 was stationed at Naval Station Great Lakes. Pang then shared with the individual in Colombia possible targets for the attack, including Naval Station Great Lakes and other locations in the Chicago area, and the individual in turn shared them with another person working with the FBI who was posing as an associate of the undercover FBI employee, according to court documents. Pang and the individual in Colombia agreed to help the undercover FBI employee and his associates conduct an attack in the US, court records state. They had also exchanged messages in which they discussed demanding a payment of $1 million for their assistance with the plot, according to the documents. Then, in the fall of 2022, Pang on three occasions met with one of the individuals undercover, the DOJ said. During meetings in Lake Bluff, Illinois – as the plot coalesced into an attack on the Naval Station – Pang displayed photos and videos on his phone of multiple locations inside the Naval Station, according to court documents. Pang asked the undercover FBI employee whether he was 'looking for max damage,' and the employee said that he was. After being asked by the FBI employee, Pang also agreed to provide two US military uniforms for operatives to wear inside the base during the attack, and a cell phone that could be used as a test for a detonator, court documents say. The FBI employee gave Pang $2,000 in return. During an October meeting, the FBI employee gave Pang $3,000 as payment for Pang and the other individual's assistance in the operation. Pang sent the individual $1,000 of the $3,000 he had received, according to court documents. The FBI Chicago Joint Terrorism Task Force is investigating the case, with assistance from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, according to the news release. Pang is detained without bond and is scheduled to be sentenced by a federal district court judge at a later date, according to the news release.
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- Yahoo
Former Navy sailor pleads guilty to federal charge in 2022 plot to attack Illinois naval station
A former US Navy sailor pleaded guilty to a federal charge accusing him of a 2022 plot to attack Naval Station Great Lakes in northern Illinois, according to a plea agreement unsealed Thursday. Xuanyu Harry Pang, 38, allegedly devised a plan involving Iranian actors to conduct an attack against the US to avenge the death of Qasem Soleimani, a general of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps who was killed by a US airstrike in 2020, according to court documents. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the US in 2019. In November, Pang pleaded guilty in a Chicago federal court to conspiring to and attempting to willfully injure and destroy national defense material, national defense premises, and national defense utilities – namely Naval Station Great Lakes – with the intent to injure, interfere with, and obstruct the national defense of the US, the Department of Justice said in a news release Thursday. Pang enlisted in the United States Navy and began his training at Naval Station Great Lakes around February 2022, according to court documents. Pang faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. CNN has reached out to Pang's attorney for comment. Pang is alleged to have communicated in 2021 with an individual in Colombia about potentially assisting him with his plan, the Department of Justice said. Accorting to court records, an undercover FBI employee posing as an affiliate of the Iranian armed forces later contacted the person in Colombia about conducting an attack, and the individual put the employee in touch with Pang, who at the time in 2022 was stationed at Naval Station Great Lakes. Pang then shared with the individual in Colombia possible targets for the attack, including Naval Station Great Lakes and other locations in the Chicago area, and the individual in turn shared them with another person working with the FBI who was posing as an associate of the undercover FBI employee, according to court documents. Pang and the individual in Colombia agreed to help the undercover FBI employee and his associates conduct an attack in the US, court records state. They had also exchanged messages in which they discussed demanding a payment of $1 million for their assistance with the plot, according to the documents. Then, in the fall of 2022, Pang on three occasions met with one of the individuals undercover, the DOJ said. During meetings in Lake Bluff, Illinois – as the plot coalesced into an attack on the Naval Station – Pang displayed photos and videos on his phone of multiple locations inside the Naval Station, according to court documents. Pang asked the undercover FBI employee whether he was 'looking for max damage,' and the employee said that he was. After being asked by the FBI employee, Pang also agreed to provide two US military uniforms for operatives to wear inside the base during the attack, and a cell phone that could be used as a test for a detonator, court documents say. The FBI employee gave Pang $2,000 in return. During an October meeting, the FBI employee gave Pang $3,000 as payment for Pang and the other individual's assistance in the operation. Pang sent the individual $1,000 of the $3,000 he had received, according to court documents. The FBI Chicago Joint Terrorism Task Force is investigating the case, with assistance from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, according to the news release. Pang is detained without bond and is scheduled to be sentenced by a federal district court judge at a later date, according to the news release. CNN's Jamiel Lynch contributed to this report.
