Current and Former U.S. Congressmen Condemn CCP Bomb Threats Targeting Shen Yun Performances

Former North Carolina congressman Madison Cawthorn published a post on his X account on February 22. He wrote: “The CCP is ramping up efforts to target Chinese Dissidents in America, like Shen Yun.

“The American people will not cower in the face of threats to freedom.”

The performance on February 20, 2025 was the first of Shen Yun’s 12 shows at the Kennedy Centre this year. That afternoon, Washington D.C. police received a phone call claiming that a bomb had been placed in the Kennedy Centre. Police quickly investigated but did not find any bombs on site. At 2 p.m they issued an all clear and the show was held as scheduled.

The arts group held a press conference on February 21 in response to the bomb threat incident. Emcee Leeshai Lemish called on the U.S. government to “investigate this thoroughly, to really try to find out who is behind this.”

According to a Washington Post report on February 20, Kennedy Centre staff were forced to evacuate for several hours late on Thursday morning after receiving the bomb threat. They were later allowed to return to the building. A spokesperson for the venue said the threats were aimed at Shen Yun performances at the theatre. The article mentioned that according to a statement from Shen Yun Performing Arts on Thursday, this was the latest in a string of bomb threats targeting their performances.

A report by NBC on February 20 said extra security would be on hand for upcoming performances by Shen Yun at the Kennedy Centre after the bomb threat. The report said according to the spokesperson for the group, a threatening email was received claiming a bomb had been placed in the theatre and would be detonated should Shen Yun be allowed to perform. However, in the end, nothing was found.

The NBC report quoted a spokesperson for Shen Yun: “Over the past few weeks of Shen Yun’s global tour, similar threats have been received by theaters in San Jose and Berkeley, California, Waterbury, Connecticut, Atlanta, Georgia, San Antonio, Texas, and San Juan, Puerto Rico, as well as in theaters where Shen Yun was performing in France, Italy, England, and Poland.

“The threats, often in Chinese, come at the same time that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has escalated its campaign to try to ‘eliminate’ Shen Yun and Falun Gong globally.”

According to a report by ABC7 on February 20, Washington DC police arrived at the Kennedy Centre at 10:45 a.m. after the venue received bomb threats targeting Shen Yun performances that were to be held soon. Emcee Leeshai Lemish said evacuees were not given much information. They only knew that the threats were targeted at upcoming Shen Yun shows. He said they stood in the cold for three hours and were only allowed to go back into the theatre around 2 p.m. Despite receiving the disturbing threats, Shen Yun’s performance at the center went on as planned on Thursday night.

The ABC7 report also mentioned that in a statement from Shen Yun to the news station, the performing arts company has received 50 such threats in the past three months. In the statement, Shen Yun performance organisers said the CCP was responsible for the bomb threats. They also said these were attempts to sabotage the shows and the performances that display, “China before communism.”

A Fox5 story also reported on the Kennedy Center bomb threats on February 22. Shen Yun Performing Arts said this is part of the tactics used by the CCP over the past 18 years to stop Shen Yun shows. The group claimed that during their tours, theatres where they were scheduled to perform have received dozens of death threats and bomb threats.

Before these bomb threats were received during Shen Yun’s current global tour, several Shen Yun performers who are originally from China were threatened by the CCP. The Fox5 report quoted Mr. Lemish: “In the past, we were individuals threatened by the CCP. Most of our performers and their family members are from China. Their families in China have been harassed. Some were detained. This is a constant issue for our members. They are constantly worried about their families in China.”