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."
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.
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.
-
Navy sailor pleads guilty in terrorist plot to attack Naval Station Great Lakes
Xuanyu Harry Pang, a former U.S. Navy sailor, pleaded guilty to charges related to a 2022 terrorist plot to attack the Naval Station Great Lakes in Illinois. CBS News' Jake Rosen reports.CBS News - 1d -
Former Navy sailor admits plotting terror attack against Naval Station Great Lakes
A U.S. sailor plotted to attack Naval Station Great Lakes with bombs and guns and also targeted tourist locations in Chicago including the Magnificent Mile and the famous Bean statue in Millennium ...NBC News - 10h -
Missouri woman pleads guilty in plot to sell Graceland
Lisa Jeanine Findley pleaded guilty to a charge of mail fraud in a plot to defraud Elvis Presley's family by trying to auction off his Graceland mansion and property.CBS News - 3d -
Suspect in Graceland fraud pleads guilty in connection with scheme
As part of a plea deal, prosecutors agreed to dismiss one count of aggravated identity theft that was previously filed against her.ABC News - 3d -
Missouri woman pleads guilty in scheme to steal Graceland
A Missouri woman with a long history of financial scams admitted Tuesday that she tried to steal Graceland from Elvis Presley’s family by posing as a fake investor, a scheme that created ...NBC News - 2d -
5 people found dead in home in Lake Station, Indiana
It was unclear if the victims were all members of the same family, how the victims died, or if any children were involved.CBS News - 6d -
Crypto Trader OKX Pleads Guilty to Running Illegal U.S. Operation
Federal prosecutors said OKX, based in Seychelles, violated anti-money laundering laws for years. The company agreed to pay more than $500 million in fines and penalties.The New York Times - 3d -
Cartel leader Rafael Caro Quintero pleads not guilty in NYC
Cartel leader Rafael Caro Quintero, wanted for the notorious killing of a U.S. DEA agent in Mexico, pleaded not guilty in NYC.CBS News - 44m -
Salman Rushdie attacker found guilty of attempted murder
The man who attacked author Salman Rushdie while he was on stage at a 2022 lecture in New York was found guilty of attempted murder charges. Legal analyst and trial attorney Robin Nunn joins CBS ...CBS News - Feb. 21
More from The Hill
-
Medvedev cheers Trump for Zelensky's 'proper slap down' in Oval Office
Top Russian official and former president Dmitry Medvedev celebrated what he called President Trump’s “proper slap down” of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office on Friday. “The ...The Hill - 28m -
Zelensky thanks Trump for visit after Oval Office clash
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked President Trump for hosting his visit to the United States on Friday despite the two leaders’ clash in the Oval Office, which led to the cancelation ...The Hill - 32m -
Republican lawmaker on Trump-Zelensky meeting: 'A bad day for America’s foreign policy'
Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) characterized Friday’s contentious meeting between President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as a “bad day” for U.S. foreign policy. "A bad day for ...The Hill - 56m -
Senate Democrats: Detaining migrants at Guantanamo Bay a threat to civil rights, military readiness
Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) led a group of Democratic senators in writing a letter Friday to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth against the mass detention of migrants at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, saying it ...The Hill - 1h -
Colorado Democrats call for independent investigation of NOAA firings
Colorado Sens. John Hickenlooper (D) and Michael Bennet (D), and Rep. Joe Neguse (D) called for an independent investigation Friday into this week’s mass firings at the National Oceanic and ...The Hill - 1h
More in Politics
-
Zelenskyy was told to leave the White House after blowup with Trump and Vance
In an Oval Office meeting, Vance and Trump accused Zelenskyy of being "disrespectful." Afterward, Zelenskyy and Ukrainian officials were told to leave.CBS News - 17m -
Zelenskyy was told to leave the White House after blowup with Trump and Vance
In an Oval Office meeting, Vance and Trump accused Zelenskyy of being "disrespectful." Afterward, Zelenskyy and Ukrainian officials were told to leave.CBS News - 17m -
Medvedev cheers Trump for Zelensky's 'proper slap down' in Oval Office
Top Russian official and former president Dmitry Medvedev celebrated what he called President Trump’s “proper slap down” of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office on Friday. “The ...The Hill - 28m -
Zelensky thanks Trump for visit after Oval Office clash
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked President Trump for hosting his visit to the United States on Friday despite the two leaders’ clash in the Oval Office, which led to the cancelation ...The Hill - 32m -
Republican lawmaker on Trump-Zelensky meeting: 'A bad day for America’s foreign policy'
Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) characterized Friday’s contentious meeting between President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as a “bad day” for U.S. foreign policy. "A bad day for ...The Hill - 56m