US Department of Justice Seeks to Revoke the Citizenship of 40 People, Including CCP Operatives

(Minghui.org) The Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed denaturalization cases against 40 individuals accused of various crimes, including acting as an agent of a foreign government, homicide, and sexual abuse of a minor. Among them was Li Ping, convicted of acting as an agent for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and monitoring Falun Gong practitioners (U.S. DOJ Charges Chinese American with Acting as a CCP Agent and Monitoring Falun Gong Practitioners).

US Attorney General Todd Blanche announced that the Department of Justice has filed lawsuits to revoke the citizenship of 40 naturalized citizens on October 5, 2026. (Minghui.org)

The DOJ filed a lawsuit to revoke Li Ping’s naturalized citizenship. The Department contends that Li’s conduct demonstrates that he did not genuinely subscribe to the principles of the US Constitution and lacked the good moral character required by law. Consequently, the DOJ is seeking to revoke his citizenship.

The denaturalization cases, filed between Aug. 21 and Oct. 2, represent the largest number of complaints filed in a single period under the current administration, according to a DOJ statement of October 5.

According to the Immigration and Nationality Act, a naturalized US citizen can lose their citizenship if such naturalization was obtained by fraud or illegal means.

Attorney General Todd Blanche said that the 40 individuals committed serious crimes, including espionage and sexual offenses. He stated that the DOJ will continue to use denaturalization proceedings to safeguard national security and protect the American people.

Brett A. Shumate, Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division of DOJ, stated that the defendants in these cases are accused of engaging in deceptive practices while obtaining US citizenship, and that the DOJ will continue to pursue cases involving citizenship obtained through concealment or false statements.

Two Chinese Americans Are on the Denaturalization List

Among the 40 individuals are two naturalized citizens from China. One of them is 61-year-old Li Ping.

The DOJ filed a lawsuit in the US District Court for the Middle District of Florida seeking to revoke Li’s citizenship on October 1. The DOJ alleged that Li conspired to act as an agent of a foreign government without prior notification to the US Attorney General.

According to DOJ documents, since at least 2012, Li—at the behest of officials from the CCP’s Ministry of State Security (MSS)—gathered information in the United States regarding Chinese dissidents, democracy advocates, Falun Gong practitioners, and American non-governmental organizations, and provided this information to the MSS. He is also alleged to have obtained sensitive information from a major US telecommunications company and the international information technology firm where he was employed, and to have passed that information on to the MSS.

In July 2024, DOJ announced criminal charges against Li for the first time. On August 23, 2024, Li pleaded guilty to conspiring to act as an agent of a foreign government without notifying the US Attorney General.

According to court documents made public at the time, Li maintained contact with an MSS official since 2012. At the official’s request, he provided information on individuals associated with Falun Gong, including two authors of Falun Gong-related books and a practitioner who participated in protests outside the Chinese Consulate General in San Francisco. The information included the practitioner’s home address, phone number, and vehicle make and model.

Li provided the MSS with the personal details of a US lawyer who wrote articles for Falun Gong-related publications. He subsequently provided further information upon request. In late 2014, Li traveled to China to meet with the MSS official.

In November 2024, Li was sentenced to four years in prison, fined $250,000, and ordered to serve three years of supervised release after being convicted of conspiring to act as an agent of the CCP.