Siblings indicted after IED found at MacDill Air Force Base, FBI says

Two siblings have been charged in federal court after authorities said an explosive device was discovered last week at MacDill Air Force Base near Tampa, Florida.

FBI Director Kash Patel revealed in a March 26 post on X that the brother and sister were indicted in connection with the incident at the military installation.

According to Patel, one of the siblings has already been taken into custody and is facing charges that include tampering with evidence. The other sibling, described as the primary suspect, has been charged with crimes related to explosives and is believed to currently be in China. Federal court documents identify the suspects as 20-year-old Alen Zheng and his sister, 27-year-old Ann Mary Zheng.

Investigators said the improvised explosive device, commonly known as an IED, was discovered on March 16 outside the visitor center at MacDill Air Force Base.

Court records reviewed by USA TODAY state that Alen Zheng is accused of attempting to blow up the visitor center using the explosive device and of constructing the IED. Prosecutors allege that Ann Mary Zheng tried to tamper with evidence by attempting to alter, destroy, mutilate, or hide a 2010 black Mercedes-Benz.

Public records show Ann Mary Zheng has listed addresses in both New York and Florida. Her brother’s most recent listed address is in Land O’Lakes, a community in Pasco County, Florida.

MacDill Air Force Base is the headquarters of U.S. Central Command, commonly known as CENTCOM. The command oversees military operations across 20 countries spanning the Middle East, Central Asia, and parts of South Asia.

Security at U.S. military installations has been heightened since the war involving Iran began on Feb. 28. Officials have warned of the possibility of retaliatory attacks inside the United States, prompting increased vigilance at bases such as MacDill and at federal counterterrorism agencies.

The arrests also follow a separate situation involving the same base earlier in the week. A 35-year-old man, Jonathan James Elder, was accused of placing threatening phone calls to MacDill on March 18, according to a federal criminal complaint. Authorities arrested him on March 23.

Investigators said that during one of the calls, Elder referenced the suspicious package that had been discovered at the visitor center near one of the base gates on March 16. He also allegedly made threats directed at the installation while speaking with base personnel.

Because of the threat on March 18, the base briefly issued a shelter-in-place order for those on site. The order remained in effect for several hours before it was eventually lifted.