Shocking Acts of Chinese Terrorism Against the U.S. Revealed by FBI Director Kash Patel

Kash Patel, appointed FBI Director in February 2025, appeared on "The Joe Rogan Experience" on June 6 to discuss specific threats and alleged illegal activities by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Before his appointment, Patel served as Deputy Chief of Staff at the Department of Defense and worked as a national security prosecutor. This report analyzes the CCP’s threats to the United States based on its remarks and supporting documents.

Patel claimed the CCP attempted to interfere in the 2020 U.S. presidential election. An internal FBI report drafted by the Albany Field Office on September 25, 2020, allegedly documented plans to mass-produce fake driver’s licenses. That report was reportedly collected and destroyed under FBI headquarters orders. According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, agents seized 19,888 counterfeit licenses originating from Hong Kong and China in the first half of 2020. In 2023, the total number rose to 40,121, with over 60 percent of the shipments linked to China and Hong Kong. While the Senate Judiciary Committee is investigating, no definitive evidence has been made public. Outlets such as NBC News have dismissed the allegations as conspiracy theories, but Fox News and the Washington Times have reported on congressional testimony and FBI documents supporting the claims.

According to CDC data (2024), 81,303 of 109,680 drug overdose deaths in the U.S. involved synthetic opioids, primarily fentanyl. At a March 2024 hearing, the House Select Committee on the CCP reported that the Chinese government provided a 9–13% export tax rebate to companies producing fentanyl precursors. A February 2025 GAO report found that Chinese-origin precursors accounted for 86% of all U.S. fentanyl seizures in 2023. FBI investigations have revealed that certain Chinese state-owned firms operated chemical companies via prison-labor enterprises connected to trafficking networks. A 2024 Brookings Institution analysis concluded that the Chinese government pursues strategic gains by tacitly encouraging fentanyl supply as a form of “weaponization.”

In December 2023, the FBI charged Chinese nationals Yunqing Gan and Zhuning Liu with attempting to smuggle Fusarium graminearum, a fungus classified by the USDA as a Category A agricultural bioterror threat. The fungus can produce toxins in wheat, barley, corn, and rice, with estimated annual economic damage of up to $4.6 billion. Forensic analysis of Gan’s electronic devices reportedly uncovered records of Chinese government funding and a CCP-affiliated research network. ABC News reported in 2024 that U.S. Customs intercepted 11 attempts to smuggle biological pathogens between 2018 and 2023, seven of which were linked to Chinese researchers.

A separate controversy emerged over Chinese land purchases near U.S. military installations. In North Dakota, the Fufeng Group’s attempt to buy 370 acres near Grand Forks Air Force Base was blocked in 2023 after an Air Force assessment flagged national security risks. A 2024 USDA report found that Chinese individuals and companies owned 418,000 acres of U.S. farmland, a fivefold increase since 2010. Chinese-owned land was also identified within 30 miles of Fort Liberty (formerly Fort Bragg). In the first half of 2025, a CFIUS report detailed an attempt by a Chinese investment fund to acquire 1,400 acres near Laughlin Air Force Base in Texas. In April 2025, Congress passed legislation requiring federal review of any foreign land purchase within 50 miles of military bases.

FBI Director Christopher Wray testified before Congress in February 2025 that the PRC is pursuing plans for strategic cyberattacks targeting U.S. civilian and military infrastructure. The 2025 CISA Threat Report confirmed that groups like Volt Typhoon and Hafnium attempted to implant persistent backdoors in the American power grid, water systems, ports, and telecommunications. A 2024 FBI Cyber Division report found that CCP-backed hackers targeted 231 U.S. private companies and 38 local governments between 2020 and 2024. In January 2025, the Soufan Center reported unauthorized PRC-linked access to 12 U.S. SCADA systems, with attempts to alter operational data. During the 2024 presidential primary season, there were also reports of CCP efforts to hack the phones and email accounts of 27 staffers across the Trump and Harris campaigns.

Meanwhile, Russia and Iran signed a 20-year comprehensive strategic partnership in January 2025, covering defense industry cooperation, cybersecurity, energy, and arms sales. Their military collaboration has deployed Shahed-136 drones and Ababil missiles in Ukraine. A May 2025 UK Ministry of Defence report found that the partnership established three drone production facilities. NATO’s April 2025 assessment detailed China’s provision of two military-grade hacking tools to Russia and evidence of real-time battlefield intelligence sharing in Ukraine. In March 2024, leaked data indicated that Iranian and Russian intelligence agencies jointly built a satellite imagery database of U.S. bases in Europe. North Korea, Iran, Russia, and China have also strengthened trade and payment networks outside of SWIFT, with evasion transactions estimated at $15 billion as of February 2025.

Patel’s remarks and the supporting evidence suggest that the CCP’s threat to U.S. national security and social stability is not a series of isolated incidents but a sustained, multilayered strategic campaign. Analysts argue that the United States will need to employ the full range of diplomatic, economic, military, intelligence, and law enforcement capabilities to respond.

Reference: FBI Intelligence Links China to Alleged Interference in 2020 Election, Washington Times, 2025. CDC, National Center for Health Statistics, 2024 Overdose Death Data. USDA, Foreign Holdings of U.S. Agricultural Land, 2024. GAO Report on Fentanyl Precursors, 2025. CISA, People’s Republic of China Threat Overview and Advisories, 2025. Justice.gov, Biological Pathogen Smuggling Case Press Release, 2024. FBI Director Christopher Wray Senate Testimony, 2025. NATO Intelligence Briefing on Russia-China Cyber Cooperation, 2025. UK MoD Intelligence Report on Iran-Russia Drone Collaboration, 2025.