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House belonged to Xiaofeng Wang.

Xiaofeng’s profile is no longer available on IU sites. So here’s his Google Scholar. https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=pONu-5EAAAAJ&hl=en

Update to this story: I’ve now heard reports that Wang’s students have been unable to contact him since mid-March. His website was taken down on the 19th.

Some early non-Indiana coverage of this story. https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/sketchy-first-reports

@adamshostack @matthew_d_green This is the part that's especially concerning. We don't know what the arrest was about (and whether it was even for a crime or an immigration matter), but it's hard to imagine what reason there could be for the university to scrub its website as if he never worked there.

Either the government put pressure on them or the university was involved in whatever it was about.

@adamshostack @matthew_d_green And while there's a process for removing tenured faculty, it takes more than an afternoon to do it.

@mattblaze @adamshostack @matthew_d_green

looking through his publications... he's so... *normal* academia soc dude.

though normal in sec looks like crazy spy movie to people who don't know anything about it.

if this keeps going we'll need a disappeared database.

@quinn @mattblaze @adamshostack @matthew_d_green We do need a disappeared database.

@beckett @quinn @mattblaze @adamshostack @matthew_d_green
sure you have seen this paper on Tom Cartwright: he probably can help on this.. https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2025/03/ice-flight-tracker-deportations/682226/

@bituur_esztreym Thank you! @quinn @mattblaze @adamshostack @matthew_d_green

@bituur_esztreym Thank you! @quinn @mattblaze @adamshostack @matthew_d_green

@mattblaze @adamshostack @matthew_d_green slated a call with the administration (of IU) for this afternoon.

@cigitalgem @mattblaze @adamshostack @matthew_d_green as a concerned alumnus, thank you! I wonder if alumni can do something to help ask for information

@michelin @mattblaze @adamshostack @matthew_d_green good question. I will see what they are thinking soon.

@SteveBellovin @mattblaze @adamshostack @matthew_d_green of course. Feel free to email me out of band

@mattblaze @SteveBellovin @cigitalgem @adamshostack @matthew_d_green I have been told by the IU Luddy dean that this is not an ICE or immigration issue. So he is not in ICE custody.

@noplasticshower @mattblaze @SteveBellovin @cigitalgem @matthew_d_green @spaf had additional comments on linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7312494851726462976/?commentUrn=urn%3Ali%3Acomment%3A(activity%3A7312494851726462976%2C7312501615515574274)&dashCommentUrn=urn%3Ali%3Afsd_comment%3A(7312501615515574274%2Curn%3Ali%3Aactivity%3A7312494851726462976)&dashReplyUrn=urn%3Ali%3Afsd_comment%3A(7312534119316369408%2Curn%3Ali%3Aactivity%3A7312494851726462976)&replyUrn=urn%3Ali%3Acomment%3A(activity%3A7312494851726462976%2C7312534119316369408)

@adamshostack @noplasticshower @SteveBellovin @cigitalgem @matthew_d_green @spaf

If there's a criminal case associated with any of this, I can't find it in the docket for the Southern District of Indiana (or the DC or Eastern VA Districts, either, which are also venues for this sort of case).

It's possible that I missed something (damn you, PACER search), that it's not yet listed, or that it's still under seal. Or that there's no case filed.

@adamshostack @noplasticshower @SteveBellovin @cigitalgem @matthew_d_green @spaf I should also note that there seems to be essentially no confirmation of anything, and the rapid pace at which this is moving suggests quite a bit that's yet to be explained.

- Accepting a tenured job elsewhere, failure to disclose grants, etc, all can be grounds for involuntary revocation of tenure, but that process is lengthy.

- A professor voluntarily resigning to go elsewhere isn't usually kept secret.

@adamshostack @noplasticshower @SteveBellovin @cigitalgem @matthew_d_green @spaf And while accepting foreign research grants can, under some circumstances, constitute fraud (e.g., against funding agencies), that's complicated, and criminal charges would generally be accompanied by press releases, etc.

In short, while it's possible to speculate, none of the speculation matches the currently known facts particularly well.

@adamshostack @noplasticshower @SteveBellovin @cigitalgem @matthew_d_green @spaf Once again, there is absolutely no publicly available information sufficient to support any conclusions here. And some of the speculation is of the form "Oh, he's of Chinese origin? I know what it must be!". In other words, racist.

Maybe he's a spy. Maybe he's a serial killer. Maybe he's suffering amnesia and wandering around in some desert. We just don't know yet.

@mattblaze @adamshostack @noplasticshower @SteveBellovin @cigitalgem @matthew_d_green @spaf Who gave you permission to be rational and thoughtful?

@adamshostack @noplasticshower @mattblaze @SteveBellovin @matthew_d_green @violetblue good timeline story here https://indianapublicmedia.org/news/fired-prof-accused-of-research-misconduct-fbi-involvement-unclear.php

And the wired story is also helpful. https://www.wired.com/story/xiaofeng-wang-indiana-university-research-probe-china/

@cigitalgem @adamshostack @mattblaze @SteveBellovin @matthew_d_green @violetblue "Their legal team is not currently aware of any pending criminal charges against them, and while the couple’s attorneys have viewed a search warrant from the Department of Justice, Covert says they have not received a copy of the affidavit establishing probable cause."

@supersat this isn’t normal Karl.

@TonyYarusso @mattblaze @matthew_d_green @adamshostack

Looking at their google scholar, they almost certainly meet the wikipedia notability standard.

Write them a bio.

@zl2tod @matthew_d_green her university webpage is down now https://libraries.indiana.edu/nianli-ma leads to an access denied message

@Nonya_Bidniss @matthew_d_green if the FBI is involved doesn't that point more toward investigating espionage than immigration?