A Chinese researcher and visa holder has been charged with smuggling E. coli into the United States and lying to U.S. Customs and Border Protection about it, FBI Director Kash Patel announced on Friday.

 

The following statement in response may be attributed to Commissioner Sid Miller: 

 

If these allegations are true, this is bioterrorism aimed squarely at the United States and our agricultural system. Smuggling E. coli into this country under the cover of a visa is the kind of act that could cripple livestock herds, disrupt our food supply, and put American families in danger. That is not science, that is sabotage.

 

The Chinese Communist Party has a long record of stealing intellectual property, exploiting American openness, and pushing the limits of our national security. This incident is another in a disturbing pattern of behavior that threatens our food supply, our national security and, ultimately, American sovereignty.  

 

Biosecurity is a key responsibility of our agency, protecting Texas agriculture from invasive pests, diseases, and dangers like this. We will never stop working to protect Texas from the threats posed by would-be bioterrorists.

 

Texas agriculture is the backbone of American food security, and we will not tolerate foreign actors using our own institutions as Trojan horses to attack it from the inside. Universities must not be safe havens for those who threaten our agricultural lifeblood. If you come to this country and threaten our food supply, our livestock, or our people, you should face the full force of the law.

 

Read also Commissioner Miller’s statement on a previous instance of biosecurity concerns linked to China: https://bit.ly/4s5MxI3