The Justice Department charged five Chinese nationals on Tuesday for allegedly photographing an American military installation in Michigan.

The five individuals are former University of Michigan students Zhekai Xu, Renxiang Guan, Haoming Zhu, Jingzhe Tao, and Yi Liang. The charges stem from an incident in August 2023 when authorities say they were caught taking pictures of military equipment during joint training exercises between the National Guard and the Taiwanese military at Camp Grayling in northern Michigan. 

They were accused of making false statements, conspiracy, and destruction, alteration, or falsification of records in federal investigations over the incident. The five men were in the United States as part of a partnership between the University of Michigan and Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

According to an affidavit from FBI special agent Caroline Colpoys, the five were found on August 23, 2023, between 12:30 a.m. and 1:00 a.m., at a lake adjacent to the Grayling Military Installation. They were at a boat launch with headlamps and cameras.

“This encounter happened during Northern Strike, one of the largest U.S. National Guard training exercises held in the United States, which included U.S. military personnel from across the United States and, in August 2023, members of the Taiwan military,” Colpoys said.  

When a National Guardsman confronted them, they allegedly falsely claimed to be members of the media. In later interviews with FBI investigators, they said they were just looking at the stars, according to the affidavit. 

After being confronted, the FBI said the five left the area and checked into a nearby motel. While they told investigators that the trip had been spontaneous, records showed that they had pre-booked the motel and were aware that there was a military installation at Camp Grayling. 

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Investigators later said that they found pictures of military vehicles and other equipment on Guan’s phone after the group discussed deleting the photos from their devices so law enforcement could not discover them. 

DOJ spokeswoman Gina Balaya said that the five men, who graduated in 2024, had not been arrested.

“The defendants are not in custody. Should they come into contact with U.S. authorities, they will be arrested and face these charges,” she said on Wednesday. 

Colpoys, an agent focused on counterintelligence and investigating national security threats, referenced previous instances of Chinese nationals trespassing on military installations. In one incident, multiple Chinese nationals studying at the University of Michigan were sentenced to prison for taking pictures of the U.S. Naval Air Station in Key West, Florida.