A former sailor admitted Thursday to plotting an attack on Naval Station Great Lakes in North Chicago, purportedly to avenge the 2020 death of Qasem Soleimani, a commander in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Xuanyu Harry Pang, 38, of North Chicago, pleaded guilty in federal court. He admitted to conspiring and attempting to willfully injure and destroy national defense material, premises and utilities with an intent to injure, interfere and obstruct in the national defense of the United States.
Pang was originally charged in 2022 but his case was kept under seal until Thursday. U.S. District Judge Jeremy Daniel has not scheduled Pang’s sentencing. Pang faces a maximum of 20 years in federal prison.
Court records show that, in addition to Naval Station Great Lakes, Pang also discussed an attack on the Cloud Gate sculpture commonly known as “The Bean,” as well as a busy Michigan Avenue bridge.
In his plea agreement, Pang acknowledged trading messages with an unnamed individual as they discussed demanding a payment of $1 million for helping with the plot against the Naval Station.
At the request of that unnamed individual, Pang met in September 2022 with someone who turned out to be cooperating with law enforcement. The cooperator claimed to be affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force, records show.
The cooperator told Pang he wanted to commit a deadly attack in the Chicago area to avenge Soleimani’s death, and Pang agreed to it in exchange for money, according to Pang’s plea agreement.
The document says Pang took and shared photos and videos of potential attack sites, including the Naval Station. During a meeting with the cooperator on Oct. 8, 2022, Pang asked whether that person was “looking for max damage,” and the cooperator confirmed that was the case.
The cooperator asked Pang for two Navy uniforms to allow access to the Naval Station, and the cooperator also gave Pang $3,000 to split with the person who first put Pang in touch with the cooperator.
Pang sent $1,000 to that person via cryptocurrency, but they also agreed to charge more money “because the plot had coalesced into an attack on the Naval Station.”
On Oct. 15, 2022, Pang gave military uniforms and a cellphone to the cooperator, who gave Pang $2,000. The cooperator had earlier asked for the cellphone to “be used in a test for a detonator.”
This is a developing story.