Liang was arrested at JFK Airport in New York on April 7. An eyewitness at the Nebraska base had alerted authorities to a man in a vehicle holding a camera with a telescopic lens while a military plane was on the runway. According to FBI documents, on March 31, Liang documented multiple aircraft at Offutt, including a Boeing E-4B, a plane famed for its ability to withstand a nuclear attack and act as a mobile command post during national emergencies. He appeared before a court in New York on April 8 and was initially released on bail, but was taken back into custody the following day when the government warned he was a considerable flight risk. FBI special agent Noah Heflin wrote that Liang told counterintelligence teams he knew his actions were illegal, but that the photos were only for his own personal collection. Liang is charged with violating a US law that bans photographing, sketching or mapping vital military bases and equipment without permission, and is expected to appear in court again later this month.
Liang is a keen plane spotter who has previously travelled around the UK to photograph military and commercial aircraft. Mr Heflin's affidavit alleges that Liang used a plane spotting website to learn where planes are parked, serviced, and loaded at numerous airfields and airports, including the Offutt base. According to legal documents, Liang flew out to Canada on March 26 to meet a friend studying at Columbia University in New York. Liang and his friend drove across the border into America two days later, travelling from Seattle, Washington, to Billings, Montana. When the friend departed for New York on March 29, Liang drove to Ellisworth Air Force Base in South Dakota in a bid to photograph the B1-B aircraft, a strategic bomber. He discovered that the B1-B aircraft had been moved and so could not be photographed, then headed on to Offutt Air Force Base.
magnets
The full details of Liang's case remain undisclosed due to the FBI's concerns regarding the ongoing investigation into a named co-conspirator. Liang's arrest comes amid longstanding warnings that British universities have become magnets for espionage, according to the head of MI5 and University of Glasgow alumnus Ken McCallum. Programs funded by the Chinese Communist party on British campuses have been accused of spying on, and censoring UK students in recent years.