Dan Bongino Issues FBI Warning After Ballistic Missile IP Theft by China, “Protect The Homeland from Threats”

FBI’s Dan Bongino Issues Business Warning After Ballistic Missile IP Theft by China, “Protect The Homeland from Threats”

The U.S. Department of Justice reported on Monday that Chenguang Gong, a dual citizen of the United States and China who worked as an engineer for an American company with military contracts, pleaded guilty “to stealing trade secret technologies developed for use by the U.S. government to detect nuclear missile launches, track ballistic and hypersonic missiles, and to allow U.S. fighter planes to detect and evade heat-seeking missiles.”

The 59-year-old resident of San Jose, California remains free on $1.75 million bond.

FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino responded to the news by repeating sentences from the DOJ press release, but he chose to alter the description of Gong from “a dual citizen of the United States and China” to “a Chinese national.” Note: The Fox News report Bongino amplified with his response also describes Gong as a “US-China citizen.”

(Note: According to Chinese law, if a Chinese citizen naturalizes as a citizen of another country, they are considered to have automatically renounced their Chinese citizenship.)

Another update for you on our efforts to defend the homeland and protect the American people from foreign intelligence agents.

Yesterday, Chenguang Gong, a Chinese national, residing in California, pled guilty to THEFT OF TRADE SECRETS. He downloaded THOUSANDS of files related… pic.twitter.com/ktBLSWir6M

— Dan Bongino (@FBIDDBongino) July 23, 2025

In his social media post, Bongino warned U.S. businesses: “We encourage our partners in the private sector to PROTECT your trade secrets from Chinese Communist Party theft. Reach out to your local FBI field office if you have any national security concerns, and together with our FBI Private Sector Coordinators, we will protect the homeland from threats both domestic and abroad.”

While some Bongino supporters thanked the deputy director for the update, many asked “Why did he receive bail?” and “Who paid the $1.75 million bail?” and –since it it is an omnipresent issue — many commenters also aired frustration over the government’s handling of the Epstein Files.

Note: U.S. District Judge John F. Walter scheduled sentencing on September 29, at which time Gong faces a statutory maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.