UTAH STATE CAPITOL—Most Utahns are not aware that the state has foreign adversaries that not only target the country but also the state. Gov. Spencer Cox, Department of Public Safety (DPS) Commissioner, Beau Mason and Rep. Candice Pierucci, R-Herriman, held a press conference recently to discuss efforts to make the state more secure.

“Here in Utah we take national security very seriously,” said Cox. “Utah is not naive to the world around us and what is happening. We recognize that there are certain threats out there.”

Utah is home to critical military and intelligence infrastructure that matters to national security and protects the nation and allies as well, he said. “That means what happens in Utah matters far beyond the borders of our state.”

Hill Air Force Base employs over 22,000 Utahns, the largest single site employer in the state, Cox said. “Aerospace and defense – these are rapidly growing sectors in our economy. We know Hill has some of the nation’s most sensitive military and intelligence operations. So when you protect Utah’s footprint, we’re also protecting America’s security footprint.”

There is some news to share today, he said. “It’s not just about the bills that are being run. But because of legislation that was passed over the past couple of years and the persistent work of the DPS, a Chinese company that owned property near one of our military installations has divested and recently sold that property.”

This a huge win for Utah, said Cox. “It’s a big win for the United States. It’s a win for our service members and it’s a win for national security. We’re not just reacting to yesterday’s threats – although we’re always doing that – We’re preparing for threats that could come in the future and trying to look around those corners.”

“I’m here to announce the divestment of a large piece of land that we were made aware of utilizing Rep. Pierucci’s statute that was put in place a couple of years ago and it’s being furthered this year,” said Mason. “That is Toole Motorsports complex. It was owned by Mitime (a Chinese owned company).”

This one in particular started with a tip, he said. “We also work very closely with the county recorders. “We then used private sector tracking. So we’re using technologies that go behind the scenes and track these entities and these purchases to tie them back to restricted foreign entities.”

Mason said from there they work closely with federal partners to use their resources to go behind the scenes as well. “Through that process, we were able to determine that this Mitime was tied to the restricted foreign entity and in violation of Utah law.”

After that the DPS worked closely with the governor’s office and the attorney general’s office to issue a letter of divestment, he said. “The letter informed them they needed to divest the land and that they were in violation of Utah State law. From that, we’re excited to say, we saw swift results. Within a matter of a couple of months of moving through this process and issuing that letter that land has now been divested and is now in the hands of a domestic partner and back in Utah’s control.”

Intelligence is only the first step, said Mason. “Collaboration is really the key to ensuring that we can be successful in this realm. We apply the same analytical rigor to land security that we do to cyber crime or organized crime. We’re going to keep these threats out of Utah and stay one step ahead of these criminals.”

The Chinese communist party (CCP) is not just another foreign investor, said Pierucci. “It is not a neutral economic actor. It’s a hostile, foreign adversary with a long term strategy to undermine the United States economically and technologically and militarily.”

This isn’t speculation, she said. “This is documented reality when we look at what they do with intellectual property, with land property and shell corporations. Which is why here in Utah we try to be proactive about this.”

Today is a really big win, Pierucci said. “The land that has just been transferred and purchased by a Utah company is located right next to the Tooele Army Depot and Utah Test and Training Range. It’s one of the most critical military testing areas in the United States where we test advanced weapons systems and military capabilities essential to our national defense. So you can see why it would be concerning that a CCP owned company has set up shop right next door.” 

It’s not about fear, Cox said. “It’s certainly not about targeting people.This is about protecting Utah’s land, our water, our infrastructure and our service members. We welcome lawful investment and partnership but we will not allow our adversarial governments to leverage over these critical assets. We will continue doing our part to defend this country right here at home.”