Authorities have arrested two foreign nationals accused of hiring people to harass, intimidate and threaten a Los Angeles resident who had publicly criticized Chinese President Xi Jinping, the U.S. Justice Department announced Friday.
The two suspects — Cui Guanghai, 43, of China; and John Miller, 63, of the United Kingdom — were arrested by Serbian law enforcement officers at the request of the United States, according to a DOJ statement.
In a criminal complaint, federal prosecutors say that the campaign against the L.A. resident began in October 2023 when Cui and Miller allegedly enlisted two people in the U.S. to stop him from protesting Xi’s appearance at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in San Francisco that November.
Authorities did not identify the victim.
“The victim had previously made public statements in opposition to the policies and actions of the PRC [People’s Republic of China] government and President Xi,” federal authorities said.
In the weeks leading up to the APEC summit, the suspects allegedly had the two people surveil the victim, install a tracking device on his car as well as slash the car’s tires.
The suspects also directed the purchase and destruction of two statues the victim had created depicting Xi and Xi’s wife, according to prosecutors.
The two suspects, however, were unaware that the two people they had enlisted were “affiliated with and acting at the direction of the FBI,” according to the Justice Department’s statement.
“A similar scheme took place in the spring of 2025, after the victim announced that he planned to make public an online video feed depicting two new artistic statutes of President Xi and his wife,” the statement read.
Federal authorities allege Cui and Miller paid two other people about $36,500 to convince the victim not to display the statues. Federal officials said those two people were also “affiliated with and acting at the direction of the FBI.”
Cui and Miller each face a maximum penalty of five years for conspiracy and five years for interstate stalking if found guilty, authorities said.
U.S. authorities also said they will seek extradition of Cui and Miller.