Chinese National Accused of Offutt Air Base Spying Gets No Jail Time
by John Gage
(Picture courtesy of Offutt Air Force Base)
Chinese citizen Tianrui Liang, who had been arrested for alleged spying on Offutt Air Force Base, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor in federal court on Thursday. Liang was sentenced to a year of supervised release.
Liang was arrested after taking photos of Offutt Air Force Base with a telescopic lens. He later admitted to the FBI that he knew what he was doing was illegal, but claimed, at the time, that the pictures were for his collection of airplane photos.
U.S. Attorney Lesley Woods promised back in April that the government was going to bring the full force of law against Liang. “Any individuals who unlawfully attempt to acquire sensitive information about military aircraft located in the District of Nebraska will be held maximumly accountable under federal law,” Woods said.
Jeffrey L. Thomas, part of the Federal Public Defender’s Office in Omaha, defended Liang, saying he was “an airplane nerd who took his nerdiness over the legal line.”
Judge Michael D. Nelson, ahead of the sentencing, described the Chinese national’s actions as “odd.” “It just seems incredibly odd, but we have had some time pass here, and no doubt the government has exhausted its efforts to determine if there is any there there,” he said.
Liang, 21, is a college student, and it is not the first case involving alleged spying by college students from China. In 2020, three Chinese nationals were sentenced to prison for illegally photographing U.S. naval installations in Florida. Two of the individuals sentenced were pursuing master’s degrees in the U.S. at the time.
Nelson said he believed a sentence of time served was “appropriate” for Liang. “I think that provides deterrence itself for defendant.”
— John Gage is the executive editor of The Plains Sentinel.