State Rep. Jerry Neyer, R-Shepherd, on Wednesday released the following statement after reporting by the Detroit News uncovered that federal law enforcement arrested a Chinese student attending the University of Michigan after she tried to smuggle a biological pathogen into the U.S.:

“Anytime we brush up against agroterrorism like this, it hits everyone in the stomach, literally and figuratively. The pathogens they were trying to get in could’ve crippled crops across Michigan and the entire Midwest.

“Agroterrorism like this is just as dangerous as any other terrorist action. Cutting off our food supply would have the same deadly effect as spreading another disease like COVID. Starving people off is going to hurt a lot more than any violent attack.

“Incidents like these prove we need to pay more attention to foreign influences in our colleges and universities. All it takes is one bad actor to put us in a world of hurt.”

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