Kash Patel Claims China Smuggled Harmful Fungus to Sabotage U.S. Food Supply

The threat from the Chinese Communist Party isn’t just about espionage or TikTok data. This time, it’s fungus literally and our food supply is the target.

Federal prosecutors unsealed charges Tuesday against two Chinese nationals, accusing them of smuggling a dangerous biological pathogen into the U.S. in what authorities say could have been an act of agricultural terrorism. The pathogen? Fusarium graminearum, a fungus so devastating it has caused billions of dollars in crop losses worldwide.

According to the Department of Justice, Chinese researcher Yunqing Jian and her boyfriend Zunyong Liu attempted to bring the pathogen into the U.S. last July to use it at a University of Michigan lab a stunning breach of both national security and public trust.

Here’s what we know:

• Fusarium graminearum causes “head blight,” a disease that devastates staple crops like wheat, barley, maize, and rice America’s food supply is at direct risk.

• The pathogen can also lead to vomiting, liver damage, and reproductive issues in both humans and animals.

• Liu initially lied to Customs and Border Protection about his plans and denied knowing anything about the fungus until he finally admitted to the smuggling plot.

• Jian had been given funding from a Chinese Communist Party-backed foundation to study the fungus as part of post-doctoral research.

U.S. Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon didn’t mince words “This scheme ranks among the gravest national security concerns.”

FBI Director Kash Patel called the incident a chilling reminder of how the CCP is exploiting U.S. institutions. “The CCP is working around the clock to deploy operatives and researchers to infiltrate American institutions and target our food supply,” Patel said.

Let that sink in. The Chinese Communist Party is not just spying it’s trying to destabilize our agriculture, the backbone of America’s economy and survival.

The charges against Jian and Liu include conspiracy, smuggling goods into the U.S., false statements, and visa fraud. And this isn’t an isolated case. Just last week, federal authorities unsealed another complaint against a Chinese student at the University of Michigan who illegally voted in the 2024 election and then fled back to China.

The Trump administration responded quickly, declaring a crackdown on Chinese nationals who abuse student visas to engage in sabotage, theft, or political interference.

Here’s why this matters more than ever:

• America’s food supply is now on the front lines of a new type of warfare: biological and agricultural sabotage.

• Over 370,000 Chinese students currently study in the U.S., many under CCP-linked funding programs.

• The national debt sits near $37 trillion, but while Washington bickers over spending, foreign threats are actively exploiting our weaknesses.

This is a wake-up call. The Chinese Communist Party is not sending researchers for “education.” It is sending them as operatives to steal, to sabotage, and, yes, to interfere with our very way of life.

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