A <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/north-dakota" target="_blank" rel="noopener">North Dakota</a> mayor has moved to block approval of a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/china" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chinese</a>-owned corn mill in his town after the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/u-s-air-force" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Air Force</a> warned that it could potentially be a national security threat. 
Grand Forks Mayor Brandon Bochenski, a Republican and former NHL player, said with the city council’s approval, he would block the opening of the mill operated by Fufeng USA, an American <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/31/us/corn-mill-fufeng-china-north-dakota.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">subsidiary</a> of a Chinese company. 
“The federal government has requested the city’s help in stopping the project as geo-political tensions have greatly increased since the initial announcement of the project,” Bochenski <a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/chinese-corn-mill-project-in-north-dakota-to-be-terminated_5024900.html?ea_src=frontpage_A_topstory&amp;ea_med=list" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in a statement. 
“The only remedies the city has to meet this directive is to refuse to connect industrial infrastructure and deny building permits. As mayor of the city of Grand Forks, I am requesting these remedies be undertaken and the project be stopped, pending City Council approval,” Bochenski continued. 
Bochenski’s announcement followed a <a href="https://www.scribd.com/document/623090728/Airforce-Fu-Feng-Letter#" target="_blank" rel="noopener">letter</a> sent to Sen. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/john-hoeven" target="_blank" rel="noopener">John Hoeven</a> (R-ND) and Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND) from the Air Force which detailed its concern about the project. The site of the proposed mill facility would be about 12 miles from Grand Forks Air Force Base. 
The Republican senators had inquired about whether the mill would present any security concerns. 
“[The] Department’s view is unambiguous: the proposed project presents a significant threat to national security with both near- and long-term risks of significant impacts to our operation in the area,” a letter from the Air Force read. 
North Dakota Republican Governor Doug Burgum <a href="https://www.governor.nd.gov/news/burgum-issues-statement-air-force-letter-citing-significant-threat-fufeng-project-grand-forks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> he supported the move to pull approval for the mill. 
“As we said previously, our top priority is the security of our citizens and our nation,” he said in a statement. “Given these concerns, we support the decision by the City of Grand Forks to initiate steps to stop the project with Fufeng Group and will support the city in finding another partner for a corn milling operation.”
If approval for the project, which was initially given in July 2022, is pulled, Fufeng USA would still have ownership of the 370 acres that it had purchased for the project. 
“It goes to show you that the people still have the ability to rise up and overcome. If they’d listened to us in the beginning, it would’ve saved them a year’s worth of time and a lot of money,” Ben Grzadzielewski, a Grand Forks resident, told The Epoch Times. 
The issue of Chinese companies or operatives purchasing agricultural land in the U.S. has become a prominent focus of some lawmakers at both the federal and state level. Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) has <a href="https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/chip-roy-introduces-bill-keep-china-from-snapping-up-us-farmland" target="_blank" rel="noopener">introduced</a> legislation to prohibit anyone linked to the Chinese Communist Party from buying farmland in the U.S., while Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/desantis-vows-to-bar-chinese-communist-party-operatives-from-buying-up-florida-property" target="_blank" rel="noopener">proposed</a> a similar measure in the Sunshine State.

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North Dakota Mayor Moves To Block Chinese-Owned Corn Mill After Warning From Air Force

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Police in Fargo, North Dakota, have identified a man seen on surveillance video smashing the windows of Republican Sen. John Hoeven’s office on December 21.
Footage shows the man, wearing jeans and a dark hoodie and holding an ax, walking up a set of stairs toward Hoeven’s office suite. He then smashes the windows of the office and walks away. Police asked the public for help identifying the man on Monday, calling the incident an act of “vandalism” in <a href="https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=401751964417319">a Facebook post</a>.
“Yesterday, Dec. 21, 2020, at 9:09 a..m. a Fargo Officer responded to a report of vandalism at Senator Hoeven’s Office,” the Fargo Police Department wrote. “Video provided to the officer shows a male suspect walk up the stairs in the skyway towards Senator Hoeven’s Office and strike the windows with what appears to be an axe.”
The department included video footage of the incident as well. On Tuesday, December 22, Fargo police updated the post to say the man in the video “has been positively identified,” adding that the assigned detective “will complete a report and forward it to the State’s Attorney’s Office.”
The Hill <a href="https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/531510-north-dakota-senators-state-office-vandalized-by-man-with-an">reported</a> that it was Hoeven’s office who reported the vandalism to police.
“We reported it and appreciate the dedicated work of our law enforcement,” said Alex Finken, a Hoeven spokesperson.
“The Cass County State&#8217;s Attorney Birch Burdick told The Hill that they received a copy of the report Thursday morning. The case will be reviewed by a prosecutor, who will determine any appropriate charges,” The Hill reported.
Republican offices and homes have been the target of vandals for years. Just about every year, when Democrats start protesting across the country, they travel to the home of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) to yell at him and his family.
In 2018, ahead of the midterm elections, vandals in Winnebago County, Illinois, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/republican-headquarters-vandalized-illinois-word-kassy-dillon">spray-painted</a> the word “rape” multiple times on the county Republican headquarters. They also painted “shame” and “9/27/18,” the day Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh defended himself from dubious sexual assault allegations.
In 2020, just before the election, far-left Antifa activists “allegedly vandalized the home of then-Republican congressional candidate Madison Cawthorn and a county GOP office in North Carolina,” The Daily Wire’s Jon Brown <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/you-have-no-soul-far-left-activists-allegedly-vandalize-home-of-north-carolina-congressional-candidate">reported</a> at the time.
“At 4:55am last morning, activists from far-left fringe Antifa groups acted on the aggressive rhetoric of my opponent and committed gross acts of vandalism and destruction of property across this district,” Cawthorn <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Cawthorn2020/posts/205809440958692">posted on Facebook</a> after the attack. “My opponent’s strike force inflicted thousands of dollars of damage to both public and private property.”
Cawthorn, who uses a wheelchair, ended up winning his election.
Earlier in 2020, protesters <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-protesters-destroy-college-republicans-info-table-reportedly-spit-on-u-s-flag">destroyed</a> a College Republicans information table at the University of California-Santa Cruz. They also reportedly spit on an American flag.
In February, a man in Florida drove his vehicle into a tent full of Republican volunteers, later telling police he hated President Donald Trump and decided to attack the volunteers because “someone had to take a stand,” The Daily Wire’s Ryan Saavedra <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/man-who-rammed-vehicle-into-gop-tent-tells-cops-why-he-did-it">reported</a>.

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Man With Axe Smashes Republican North Dakota Senator’s Office

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North Dakota Mayor Moves To Block Chinese-Owned Corn Mill After Warning From Air Force

Man With Axe Smashes Republican North Dakota Senator’s Office