According to prosecutors, Alen Zheng, 20, placed an explosive device outside MacDill Air Force Base on March 10 and lit a fuse, but the device did not detonate. He and his sister, Ann Mary Zheng, 27, then fled to China on March 12. Prosecutors allege that Ann Mary Zheng used ChatGPT to help her brother flee to China after he placed the bomb and that she disposed of evidence related to the plot.
Specifically, she is accused of helping clean and sell her brother's Mercedes-Benz SUV before leaving the country with him. Ann Mary Zheng returned to the United States on March 17 and was detained upon arrival. She is currently in custody awaiting trial, according to multiple reports.
Alen Zheng remains in China, according to multiple reports, and is charged with attempting to damage government property, unlawfully making a destructive device, and possessing an unregistered destructive device, according to multiple reports. Prosecutors say Alen Zheng called 911 immediately after planting the bomb, but the specific details of that call, such as its content or duration, remain unclear. In a separate but proximate incident, a suspicious package was found outside MacDill Air Force Base on March 16, prompting an FBI investigation.
The package contained 'possible energetic materials,' according to multiple reports. On March 18, a 35-year-old Palm Harbor man was charged with making threatening phone calls to MacDill Air Force Base, and he was arrested on Monday, according to multiple reports. The 35-year-old man has a history of making similar threats and was taken to a mental health facility under Florida's Baker Act, according to multiple reports.
There is no immediate connection between the 35-year-old caller and the Zhengs, according to multiple reports. S. Central Command, which plans military operations in the Middle East, according to multiple reports.
MacDill Air Force Base has been on heightened alert since the war in Iran began, according to multiple reports, adding context to the security concerns surrounding these incidents.