Anson Chi
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Anson Chi was born in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
. He attended Plano Senior High School at Plano, Texas, and graduated in 1996. Chi was arrested for theft in 1998 in
San Angelo, Texas San Angelo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Tom Green County, Texas, United States. Its location is in the Concho Valley, a region of West Texas between the Permian Basin (North America), Permian Basin to the northwest, Chihuahuan Desert ...
. Anson Chi has been identified as being part of the
sovereign citizen movement The sovereign citizen movement (also SovCit movement or SovCits) is a loose group of anti-government activists, conspiracy theory, conspiracy theorists, vexatious litigants, tax protesters and financial scammers found mainly in English-speakin ...
. In 2007, Chi allegedly expressed support for
tax protesters A tax protester is someone who refuses to pay a tax claiming that the tax laws are unconstitutional or otherwise invalid. Tax protesters are different from tax resisters, who refuse to pay taxes as a protest against a government or its policies ...
Edward and Elaine Brown Edward Lewis Brown (born 1942) and his wife, Elaine Alice Brown (born ), residents of the state of New Hampshire, gained national news media attention as tax protesters in early 2007 for refusing to pay the Income tax in the United States, U.S. fe ...
. He posted a
YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
video stating that he would not file federal income tax returns or pay
federal income tax The United States federal government and most state governments impose an income tax. They are determined by applying a tax rate, which may increase as income increases, to taxable income, which is the total income less allowable deductio ...
. In 2008, he self-published a novel, ''Yellow on the Outside, Shame on the Inside: Asian Culture Revealed''. In the book, he disclosed frustrations with his parents and allegedly threatened to kill himself.


Conviction for weapons violation

In 2008, he was sentenced to three years probation in
Orange County, California Orange County (officially the County of Orange; often initialized O.C.) is a county (United States), county located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in Southern California, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population ...
on a weapons charge. According to the
Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...
, his three-year probation was revoked in 2009. Chi also faced a charge in
Collin County, Texas Collin County is a county in the northern part of the U.S. state of Texas. It is part of the Dallas- Fort Worth- Arlington metropolitan statistical area, and a small portion of the city of Dallas is in the county. At the 2020 United States c ...
, for allegedly failing to identify himself as a fugitive.


The Plano, Texas natural gas pipeline bombing

On June 22, 2012, the
Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...
(FBI) arrested Chi after a series of suspicious explosions near midnight on the night of June 17–18, 2012, near a gas pipeline in a residential area of
Plano, Texas Plano ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for "flat surface" /'plano/) is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, where it is the largest city in Collin County, Texas, Collin County. A small portion of Plano is located in Denton County, Texas, Denton Count ...
. Chi allegedly told police he had been hit by a car, but the police concluded that he was trying to tamper with a natural gas system and that a homemade bomb detonated in his possession. On June 25, 2012, the ''
Dallas Morning News ''The Dallas Morning News'' is a daily newspaper serving the Dallas–Fort Worth area of Texas, with an average print circulation in 2022 of 65,369. It was founded on October 1, 1885, by Alfred Horatio Belo as a satellite publication of the ' ...
'' reported that during the investigation, law enforcement personnel found an explosive device in Chi's residence, and that a "bomb squad hauled a device out of the house, encased it in a protective steel container, buried it in a hole in Kaufman County and blew it up...." In connection with the incident, Chi was indicted by a Federal grand jury on a charge of possession of a destructive device in violation of the
National Firearms Act The National Firearms Act (NFA), 73rd Congress, Sess. 2, ch. 757, was enacted on June 26, 1934, and currently codified and amended as . The law is an Act of Congress in the United States that, in general, imposes an excise tax on the manufact ...
; the indictment was filed on July 11, 2012 in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. On March 4, 2013, the Court ruled that Chi was competent to stand trial. In a superseding indictment handed down on February 14, 2013, Chi was charged with possession of an unregistered firearm in the form of an explosive, malicious use of explosive materials, and using or carrying a destructive device during a crime of violence. On June 3, 2013, Chi pleaded guilty to a charge of attempting to destroy a natural gas pipeline used in interstate commerce, and to a charge of possessing an explosive device not registered with the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record. On February 26, 2014, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas issued an order granting Chi's motion to withdraw his guilty plea. On May 14, 2014, a Second Superseding Indictment was filed against Chi in the case. He was charged with one count of knowingly possessing a destructive device not registered to him in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record, in violation of , , , and ; one count of malicious use of an explosive, in violation of subsection (i) of ; one count of using or carrying a destructive device during a crime of violence, in violation of subsection (c)(1)(B)(ii) of ; and one count of making a false declaration before a court, in violation of . Eventually, Chi again pleaded guilty. On June 11, 2015, he was sentenced to twenty years in prison, based on a guilty plea to one count of possession of an unregistered firearm, and one count of malicious use of an explosive device. The sentence was ten years on the first count and twenty years on the latter count, but the two sentences were ordered to be served concurrently. Chi was also ordered to pay other amounts, including $28,127.77 in restitution to Atmos Energy in connection with the damage to the pipeline.


Bankruptcy

On December 12, 2013, Chi filed for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Protection in the United States Bankruptcy Court, Eastern District of Texas from the Collin County Detention Facility without the help of an attorney.


Incarceration

As a result of his conviction for the Plano, Texas pipeline bombing, Anson Chi is now incarcerated at the Federal Correctional Institution, McKean at Lewis Run, Pennsylvania, and is projected to be released on March 27, 2030.Anson Chi, inmate # 44588-177, Federal Bureau of Prisons, U.S. Dep't of Justice.


References


External links

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Amazon.com: Anson Chi
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chi, Anson 21st-century American novelists Writers of books about writing fiction Writers from California Living people American male novelists 21st-century American male writers Tax protesters in the United States Year of birth missing (living people)