Lawmakers Press DOJ to Investigate Tiananmen Square Museum Vandalism, China Ties

Two House lawmakers are calling on the federal government to step in following reported vandalism of a California museum.

Reps. Chris Smith (R-N.J.), co-chair of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC), and John Moolenaar (R-Mich.), chair of the House Select Committee on China, sent a letter on Wednesday to acting Attorney General Todd Blanche calling on the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate the recent vandalism of the June Fourth Massacre Memorial Museum in El Monte, Calif., as a potential act of transnational repression involving the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) or People’s Republic of China (PRC).

The museum honors the Tiananmen Square Massacre, which occurred on June 4,1989. A report last month from Domino Theory claimed that unknown individuals broke into the museum shortly before the 37th anniversary of the event, spray-painting walls and exhibits, damaging property, and interfering with the museum’s surveillance system.

“The museum preserves the irrefutable, brutal truth about the Tiananmen Massacre—the same truth that the CCP has spent nearly four decades actively denying and trying to bury,” Smith said in a statement. “That is why the DOJ must treat this attack with the seriousness it deserves and determine whether it was more than ordinary vandalism.

“If this attack was planned, supported, or carried out by anyone acting on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party, it would be an attack on free speech, historical memory, and the safety of Chinese democracy advocates living in the United States.”

The joint letter alludes to “a troubling pattern of incidents” in California, referencing the destruction of sculptures and surveillance targeting connected to Liberty Sculpture Park and dissident artist Chen Weiming; violence and intimidation directed at anti-CCP protesters during the 2023 APEC summit in San Francisco; and federal charges against former Arcadia Mayor Eileen Wang.

Military.com previously reported on Wang, who resigned from her seat in May and later that month pleaded guilty to acting as an illegal agent of the PRC.

“The CCP is the biggest oppressor of Chinese people in the world, and it is constantly trying to silence its critics in the United States through its campaign of transnational repression,” Moolenaar said in a statement. “The DOJ and FBI should investigate the vandalism at the June 4 Massacre Memorial Museum to protect the inalienable rights of the Chinese diaspora seeking freedom in the United States, as well as patriotic Chinese Americans who dare to speak out against the CCP.”

Incident Shows ‘Serious Threat to US Sovereignty’

The Smith-Moolenaar letter insists caution be adhered to for incidents such as these, connecting the vandalism to potentially more nefarious activity as a broader “serious threat to U.S. sovereignty.”

They are calling on the DOJ, the FBI’s Los Angeles field office, and the National Security Division to determine whether this attack was planned, encouraged, supported or carried out by individuals acting on behalf of, at the direction of, or in sympathy with the PRC or CCP.

“What may first appear to be vandalism, assault, harassment or political disruption can sometimes be part of a broader effort by a foreign adversary to silence critics and intimidate diaspora communities inside the United States,” the letter states. “We are also aware that the first officials to respond to some of these incidents—local police officers, local prosecutors, and FBI field agents—may not have fully appreciated the possibility that these acts were connected to a foreign government or its proxies.

“That possibility raises broader questions about whether front-line law enforcement officials have the training, resources and support needed to identify transnational repression when they encounter it. State attorneys general and other elected officials have testified before Congress about the need for additional training, stronger federal-state cooperation, and improved information-sharing on this issue.”

Lawmakers: DOJ Has to Provide These Answers

The lawmakers outlined a list of their main questions for Blanche and DOJ, requesting a written response to the following inquiries:

• What guidance, training, or threat briefings FBI field offices currently provide to local police departments and prosecutors on recognizing signs of transnational repression.
• Whether DOJ will conduct additional training and outreach in California, including in Los Angeles County, the San Gabriel Valley, San Francisco, and other communities where PRC-linked intimidation or influence activities have been alleged or charged.
• What reporting mechanisms exist for victims, museums, civil-society organizations, and diaspora communities that suspect they are being targeted by transnational repression, especially when they fear retaliation against themselves or relatives abroad.
• What additional statutory authority, resources, or congressional action DOJ believes would help prevent, investigate, and prosecute transnational repression more effectively.

Smith and Moolenaar also encouraged federal authorities to follow in the footsteps of the FBI Philadelphia Field Office’s creation of the bureau’s first operational task force dedicated to transnational repression threats, acknowledging it as “an important step in the right direction” while adding that “more needs to be done.”

“Local officers across the country need to know what indicators to look for, how to preserve evidence, how to protect victims who may fear retaliation against family members abroad, and when to contact federal authorities,” they said in the letter. “FBI field offices also need the resources and guidance necessary to identify patterns across cases that may otherwise appear isolated.”