U.S. Attorney Breon Peace of the Eastern District of New York on Wednesday announced that five people have been charged with crimes related to harassment, stalking and spying on Chinese nationals living in the United States by the Chinese secret police.

According to prosecutors, one victim of the scheme is Xiong Yan, now a candidate for a Long Island congressional seat. Yan had been a leader of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests while a student at Beijing University Law School, before he moved to the United States, according to court records.