Brother and sister charged in alleged IED plot targeting US Air Force base

A Chinese brother and sister have been charged over a chilling IED plot targeting a US Air Force base that serves as a nerve center for America's war with Iran . A figure appearing in silhouette with a distorted voice claimed responsibility in a video sent to the Tampa Bay Times on Monday, warning that a bomb planted near the base on March 10 had failed to detonate but that 'we have taken actions to rectify this.' 'We have a newly improved design that we plan to use in the upcoming days,' the speaker said, adding the device had been planted 'in opposition to the war in Iran by the Epstein [child predators] of the US government.' Alen Zheng, 20, and Ann Mary Zheng, 27, were charged Wednesday in separate federal indictments after the explosive device was found outside a gate at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa on March 16.

The sister is in custody; the brother has fled to China, FBI director Kash Patel said. MacDill hosts both US Central Command, which oversees Middle East operations, and US Special Operations Command, making it one of the most sensitive installations on US soil. Alen Zheng is charged with attempting to damage government property, unlawfully making a destructive device and possessing an unregistered destructive device. Ann Mary Zheng is charged with witness tampering and acting as an accessory after the fact in her brother's case. She is accused of hiding or damaging a 2010 Mercedes-Benz to conceal evidence, court documents show. The brother and sister share an address in Land O' Lakes.

The alleged crimes took place between March 10 and 12, a few days before the device was found near the base's visitor center, according to the indictment unsealed Thursday. The speaker in the video to the Tampa Bay Times also criticized Trump's immigration crackdown and ICE agents. He claimed to represent an international outfit calling itself the 'New Weathermen Underground.' MacDill has been on heightened alert since the war in Iran began; a separate threat against the base was made on March 18. A separate man was arrested earlier this week on charges of making threatening calls to the base in the days after the device was found, though investigators have stopped short of linking him to any planted device.

There was no immediate connection between the caller and the Zhengs. The FBI and Department of Homeland Security have warned of potential retaliatory attacks since the war began, urging vigilance around military and government sites. A gunman opened fire at a packed bar in Austin, Texas, killing two people and wounding 14 others just hours after the US and Israel launched the war on February 28. The shooter, Ndiaga Diagne, 53, a Senegalese-born naturalized US citizen, was killed by police after shooting at patrons from the street before turning his weapon on pedestrians nearby. Investigators found a Quran in his car and he was pictured wearing a shirt bearing the words 'Property of Allah' on the day of the attack.