A former sailor pleaded guilty to plotting an attack on Naval Station Great Lakes, possibly on behalf of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the Department of Justice announced Thursday.
Xuanyu Pang, 38, of North Chicago, Ill., pleaded guilty in November to conspiracy to and attempt to willingly injure and destroy national defense material, premises and utilities with the intent to injure, obstruct or interfere with the country’s national defense, according to the Justice Department release. While the Pang pleaded in November, the case was not unsealed until Thursday.
The release did not include Pang’s rank or position in the Navy.
In summer 2021, Pang spoke with a person in Colombia, not identified in the release, about possibly helping with a plan with Iranian actors to attack the U.S. to avenge the death of Gen. Qasem Soleimani, an IRGC Quds Force general, who the U.S. killed in 2020. An FBI employee posed as an affiliate of the Quds Force and communicated with the person, who then put the employee in touch with Pang, according to the release. At the time, Pang was stationed at Naval Station Great Lakes.
Pang and the FBI employee communicated about possible targets. In the fall of 2022, Pang also met three times with another FBI employee who also posed as an affiliate of the Quds Force. When the target became Naval Station Great Lakes, Pang showed photos and videos he captured on his phone of the naval station, provided military uniforms and gave a cellphone that could be used as a test for. detonator.
Pang faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. He is currently being held without bond while he awaits sentencing.
