Two foreign nationals charged with stalking a Los Angeles artist who criticized Xi Jinping

Two foreign nationals were charged with stalking a Los Angeles-based artist who has criticized Chinese President Xi Jinping, federal officials said.

Cui Guanghai, 43, of China, and John Miller, 63, of the U.K. and a U.S. lawful permanent resident, were charged with interstate stalking, conspiracy to commit interstate stalking, smuggling and violating the Arms Export Control Act, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office Central District of California.

“The defendants allegedly plotted to harass and interfere with an individual who criticized the actions of the People’s Republic of China while exercising their constitutionally protected free speech rights within the United States of America,” said FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino in the release. “The same individuals also are charged with trying to obtain and export sensitive U.S. military technology to China.”

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If convicted, Cui and Miller face up to five years in prison for conspiracy, five years for interstate stalking, 20 for violating the Arms Export Control Act and 10 years for smuggling.

According to court documents, Cui and Miller allegedly employed two people, who they didn’t know were acting on the direction of the FBI, to carry out a plot to stop someone from protesting Xi’s appearance at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. The victim, who wasn’t named in the release, had previously publicly criticized Xi and China’s government.

Cui and Miller had the alleged victim surveiled, had a tracking device installed on their car, slashed the tires on the car and bought and destroyed statues created by the victim showing Xi and Xi’s wife, according to the release.

In the spring of 2025, the victim announced that he planned to publicize an online feed showing the two statues; Cui and Miller allegedly paid two other people $36,500 to convince the victim not to display the statues, officials wrote. Those two people were also working with the FBI.

Starting in November 2023, Miller and Cui allegedly procured U.S. defense articles, including air defense radar, drones, missiles and cryptographic devices in order to unlawfully export them from the U.S. to China. They talked with two other people about how to export the device, including hiding it in a blender, motor starter, small electronics or shipping it to Hong Kong.

Cui and Miller allegedly paid about $10,000 as a deposit for the cryptographic device through a courier in the U.S. and wire transfer to a U.S. bank account, officials said.