Facts

• The FBI on Monday announced the arrest of Lu Jianwang and Chen Jinping, two New York City residents who allegedly operated a secret Chinese government police station in Manhattan's Chinatown. They were expected to appear in a Brooklyn court later that day.
• Both men are US citizens. They've been charged with conspiring to act as agents of the PRC without registering with the Justice Dept. (DOJ) and with obstruction of justice for destroying messages between themselves and China's Ministry of Public Security (MPS).
• Federal prosecutors argued that the alleged police station was established in coordination with Chinese national police officers, further claiming that members of the Chinese consulate in New York had visited it after the opening.
• The premises were reportedly set up in early 2022 to identify, track, and harass Chinese dissidents within the US — the defendants have stated that it was established to help Chinese citizens to renew their government documents.
• Even if the station was only providing bureaucratic assistance — as has been claimed — the law requires those running it to give prior notice to the DOJ before establishing such an organization on US soil. It was shut down last fall after federal agents raided the premises.