Reps. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Co-Chair of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC), and John Moolenaar (R-MI), Chairman of the House Select Committee on China, sent a letter to Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche urging the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate the recent vandalism of the June Fourth Massacre Memorial Museum in El Monte, California, as a potential act of transnational repression.

                According to public reporting, unknown individuals broke into the Museum shortly before the 37^th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre—which occurred on June 4^th, 1989—where they spray-painted walls and exhibits, damaged property, and interfered with the museum’s surveillance system.

                In their letter, the lawmakers request that the DOJ, including the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office and the National Security Division, work closely with local authorities to determine whether the attack was connected to the People’s Republic of China (PRC), the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), or individuals acting in sympathy with Beijing’s campaign to silence critics abroad.

                “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,” said Smith. “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.

                “America must be a place where survivors, dissidents, and diaspora communities can speak the truth without fear, and we must all work to ensure that foreign intimidation has no safe harbor here,” concluded Smith.

                “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,” said Moolenaar. “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.”

                The Smith-Moolenaar letter points to a string of attacks in California, including 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 the federal charges against former Arcadia Mayor Eileen Wang for acting as an illegal agent of the PRC.

                “California has seen a troubling pattern of incidents that should sharpen our attention [and]…raises broader questions about whether front-line law enforcement officials have the training, resources, and support they need to identify transnational repression when they encounter it,” the Republican lawmakers write.

                Smith and Moolenaar further urge the DOJ and FBI to strengthen their training and coordination with state and local law enforcement to identify, investigate, and prosecute acts of transnational repression. Their letter notes that police officers and prosecutors are often the first to encounter incidents that may appear to be local or isolated, but could, in fact, be connected to a foreign government or its proxies.

                The lawmakers concluded their letter by requesting that the DOJ provide a written response and briefing addressing:

1. What guidance, training, or threat briefings FBI field offices currently provide to local police departments and prosecutors on recognizing signs of transnational repression;
2. Whether the 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;
3. 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; and
4. What additional statutory authority, resources, or congressional action the DOJ believes would help prevent, investigate, and prosecute transnational repression more effectively.

                Smith and Moolenaar have supported and led congressional efforts to combat transnational repression, including the Transnational Repression Policy Act (HR 4829), bipartisan legislation to strengthen U.S. government training, outreach, reporting, and accountability tools to counter foreign governments that harass, intimidate, surveil, or coerce people inside the United States.

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