Search Articles
OMAHA, Neb. (CN) — A Chinese citizen accused by federal authorities of taking unauthorized photos of secretive aircraft at a Nebraska base moved to change his plea to guilty Monday.
Tianrui Liang, 21, faces up to a year in prison and a fine in the case on charges of violating a federal law barring the photographing or sketching of defense installations, a Class A misdemeanor — the most serious in the federal system. His case was investigated by the counterintelligence squad of the Omaha FBI Field Office.
In the motion, filed Monday morning, Liang’s attorney Jeffrey L. Thomas of the Federal Public Defender’s Office in Omaha said sentencing guidelines mean his client should get a term of zero to six months in prison, and pointed out Liang has already been locked up for 30 days.
A detention hearing was scheduled for Thursday, and Thomas moved that during that hearing the court should proceed to a change of plea and sentencing.
Messages left with the U.S. Attorney’s office and with Thomas early Monday afternoon were not immediately returned.
Authorities arrested Liang at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City on April 7, where he had driven after being interviewed by the FBI in Nebraska.
Liang was initially released, but authorities successfully appealed and took him into custody again on April 10.
Liang had pleaded not guilty Friday afternoon during an initial appearance at the Roman L. Hruska Federal Courthouse in downtown Omaha. U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael D. Nelson, believing Liang to be a flight risk, would not allow him to be released prior to the Thursday detention hearing.
In its criminal complaint, which cited a witness, the FBI said a male was spotted outside Offutt Air Force Base, located on the southside of the Omaha suburb of Bellevue. In addition to the headquarters, the base is home to some of America’s most sensitive command-and-control aircraft.
The incident happened while aircraft were on the runway. Base security and Air Force investigators responded and found Liang with a camera equipped with a telescopic lens. After learning he had a Chinese passport, they called the FBI.
Prior the incident, Liang had also visited a base in Rapid City, South Dakota, where he hoped to photograph B-1 bombers, authorities say. They say he also planned to visit another base near Oklahoma City afterward.
In the complaint, authorities say they pressed Liang on the “circuitous logistics” of his travels, which began after Liang met a friend in Vancouver, British Columbia.
The pair drove to Billings, Montana, where the friend caught a flight to New York. Liang planned to leave the car in Kansas City, then travel to Dallas and also fly to New York. He said it made more sense for the friend to pick the car up in Kansas City. He admitted to photographing military planes at Offutt, including an RC-135 and an E-4B.
After the interview, Liang consented to a search of his phone and camera. Authorities say the camera contained several pictures of the Offutt flightline.
The large amount of data found by investigators was one of the many topics addressed in Friday’s hearing.
“The discovery in this case is potentially voluminous,” prosecutor Donald J. Kleine of the U. S. Attorney’s office said in that hearing. “The amount of data in the various devices is significant.”
In a motion waiving his right to a Mandarin interpreter, Liang said he was an aeronautical engineering student at the University of Glasgow in Scotland. He said he began learning English in China at age 8.
Liang’s arrest in April made newsaround the world.
Follow @nelson_ajSubscribe to our free newsletters
Our weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.
