China-born Canadian citizen deported from U.S. for photographing military bases

Xiao Guang Pan, a 71-year-old Chinese man with Canadian citizenship from Brampton, Ontario, pleaded guilty in a U.S. District Court to three counts of illegally photographing military installations.

Source: Wikimedia Commons

Xiao Guang Pan, a 71-year-old Chinese man with Canadian citizenship from Brampton, Ontario, pleaded guilty in a U.S. District Court to three counts of illegally photographing military installations. The incidents occurred on separate days in early January.

A judge sentenced him to 12 months probation and ordered him deported immediately under the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act. U.S. Immigration and Citizenship Enforcement is carrying out the removal.

According to a plea agreement, Pan entered the United States last November on a tourist visa and was stopped by local police on January 7 after NASA detected drone activity near the Cape Canaveral base.

Investigators found he had flown a DJI Mavic Pro 3 drone over three days, capturing 1,919 photographs and videos.

Of those, 243 photographs and 13 videos showed Space Force infrastructure, including fuel and munitions storage, security checkpoints, mission control facilities and a Navy submarine platform.

Pan initially told agents he was filming “the beauty of nature, the sunrise, and the cruise ship port,” and claimed he was unaware of the military base.

Forensic analysis of his devices revealed he had logged warnings about FAA airspace violations and had Google Maps screenshots marking “Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.”

The case triggered a joint investigation by the FBI, U.S. Homeland Security, and the U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations.

Pan surrendered his US$5,000 drone and equipment and is barred from re-entering the U.S. without permission from the government.

On a local arts biography page, Pan identified himself as a retired Best Buy Canada technician who immigrated to Canada from China in 2001.