OAN Staff Lillian Mann
3:30 PM – Thursday, March 26, 2026
Federal authorities have indicted a pair of siblings following the discovery of a potential improvised explosive device outside the visitor’s center at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa earlier this month.
The investigation centers on 20-year-old Alen Zheng, who is accused of planting the device, and his 27-year-old sister, Ann Mary Zheng. According to investigators, the duo fled to China on March 12th, just two days after the incident occurred.
Alen Zheng currently faces several serious charges, including the unlawful manufacture and possession of an unregistered destructive device, as well as the attempted damage of government property by fire or explosion.
While he remains at large, his sister was taken into custody on March 17th, St. Patrick’s Day, after returning to the United States — arriving at a Detroit airport.
Prosecutors have since charged Ann Mary Zheng with being an accessory after the fact and evidence tampering, accusing her of “hiding or damaging a 2010 Mercedes-Benz to obstruct ongoing legal proceedings.”
During a court appearance on Thursday, Ann entered a plea of not guilty. Gregory W. Kehoe, the U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Florida, noted that she could face up to 30 years in federal prison if convicted. Although Alen Zheng has yet to appear in court due to his current whereabouts, Kehoe stated that the charges against him carry a potential sentence of up to 40 years.
The pair’s mother, allegedly admitted to authorities that her son had confessed to the plot. She is also currently facing pending deportation for a visa overstay and is now in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody. However, as of Thursday at 3:00 p.m. PT, she has not been criminally charged.
Kehoe stated that Alen Zheng purportedly planted the IED in a secluded area outside MacDill’s visitor center. Minutes later, officials explained that they had received a cryptic 911 call stating a bomb had been planted — but refused to provide the precise location.
Prosecutors also said that on March 11th, the day after the bomb was planted, the siblings had tried to cover their tracks by selling their vehicle to Car Max. Nonetheless, investigators still discovered trace explosive residue inside the vehicle.
The MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa houses the headquarters of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM). Moreover, the base also houses U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), which oversees special operations forces across the Department of War.
On Monday night, an anonymous video was also sent to a Tampa Bay Times editor from a speaker claiming to represent a political group known as the “New Weathermen Underground.”
Appearing only as a silhouette with a technologically distorted voice, the individual stated that the bomb was planted to oppose “the war in Iran by the Epstein pedophiles of the U.S. government,” according to the outlet. The speaker also criticized recent increases to the Department of Homeland Security’s budget and the deployment of immigration agents.
During the recording, the speaker detailed a specific timeline of threats made against MacDill Air Force Base over the past week. This included the discovery of a suspicious package at the Dale Mabry Gate on March 16th, a separate threat on March 18th that triggered a shelter-in-place order, and a previously undisclosed claim that an explosive device had been planted near the base as early as March 10th.
Despite these details, it remains unclear if the speaker was referring to the March 16th package, the March 18th threat, or an entirely separate incident. The speaker also added that since the March 10th bomb failed to detonate, the individuals behind it had “taken action to rectify this.”
“We have a newly improved design that we plan to use in the upcoming days,” they said.
The video was sent via Signal — a secure messaging app — to Zachary T. Sampson, the Tampa Bay Times investigative editor. Sampson then sent the video to Mark Katches, the outlet’s editor, who notified law enforcement.
“The information contained in the video was certainly alarming enough that we felt it was prudent to alert law enforcement right away,” Katches said.
HFBI officials on Tuesday declined to comment on the active investigation after reviewing the video sent to the Tampa Bay Times.
“An IED was placed at MacDill Air Force Base – home to CENTCOM and U.S. Special Operations Command. A brother and sister have now been indicted. One is in custody for accessory and evidence tampering and the primary suspect is charged with explosives offenses and is currently in China. This FBI, working with our partners, will continue pursuing all those responsible and ensure they are brought to justice, no matter where they are,” FBI Director Kash Patel posted on X.
It is unclear whether or not “The New Weathermen Underground” has any connection to the domestic terrorist group with a similar name, “Weather Underground,” which claimed responsibility for more than two dozen bombings in the 1970s, according to the FBI.
Furthermore, in an effort to avoid spreading unverified, sensitive information part of the active investigation, the Tampa Bay Times has decided not to publish the full video at this time.
The MacDill military base raised security levels to “Force Protection Charlie” or FPCON CHARLIE — the military’s second highest security level — on March 17th and remained on that level until Wednesday morning. New Jersey’s Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst also reported that it similarly received a suspicious package on March 17th and like MacDill, raised its security status to FPCON CHARLIE. However, no threat was discovered.
Additionally, military installations in North Carolina, California, and Texas have since increased safety measures, including ID checks and vehicle searches, but they have not formally raised their security statuses.
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