Haoxiang Gao, a green card holder 20-year-old University of Michigan Ann Arbor student from China who was being prosecuted for illegally voting in the 2024 election in Ann Arbor now faces a new charge of flight to avoid prosecution after it was revealed in court this week he fled the U.S. back to China on January 19 (the before President Trump was sworn into office) using a secret passport in his name after previously turning in his known passport as part of his pre-trial release conditions.
Photo link.
Excerpt from MLive report:
The 19-year-old student, Haoxiang Gao, was court-ordered to remain in Michigan while on a $5,000 bond for the state criminal charges he faced for the illegal vote.
Gao boarded Delta Flight #389 from Detroit International Airport to Shanghai on Jan. 19, according to a federal case that was recently unsealed.
The student was forced to surrender his passport when he was arraigned on the original charges of false swearing to register/vote and unqualified elector attempting to vote on Nov. 8, 2024.
His passport with a serial number ending in “1332” was surrendered to authorities on Nov. 1, according to the federal criminal complaint.
Gao, however, used a passport in his name with the serial number ending in “7137” to pass through airport security and board the flight to Shanghai, according to the complaint.
The Detroit News posted an image of Gao in a post about the paper’s report on his fleeing the U.S. (behind a paywall):
Scoop w/@CraigDMauger The new criminal case provided the untold backstory of what happened to 19-year-old UM student Haoxiang Gao and showed that he managed to leave the U.S. despite surrendering a passport https://t.co/UgvzC8fSmS via @detroitnews
— Robert Snell (@robertsnellnews) May 30, 2025
Gao was a no show for an April 24 probable cause hearing, reported VoteBeat (excerpt):
Haoxiang Gao, 20, a Chinese national, is facing two felony charges that he cast a ballot despite not being eligible and lied on the voter registration form. He was scheduled for a probable-cause hearing but didn’t appear. The hearing had been delayed repeatedly over the past several months.
It’s not clear where Gao is. K. Orlando Simón, Gao’s attorney and a staff member at the University of Michigan’s Student Legal Services, declined to comment Thursday, and university officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A voicemail left with the Washtenaw County prosecutor’s office Friday morning was not immediately returned.
The bench warrant, which authorizes an arrest, is an escalation in a case that has highlighted a loophole in the state’s same-day registration system, prompting lawmakers and state officials to propose new solutions to ensure it won’t happen again.
The decision, made by Judge J. Cedric Simpson of District 14A Court, happened after a bench conference with Gao’s lawyer.
If convicted, Gao could face up to nine years in prison and potential deportation.
Gao apparently chose to self-deport without being asked to by Tom Homan.
The Michigan Enjoyer did a deep dive on Gao’s case in March, including his police interviews. Gao said he realized he should not have voted and contacted officials. Gao was born in China, but his family moved between the U.S. and China several times while he was growing up (excerpt):
Haoxiang Gao, the University of Michigan student and Chinese national who voted illegally last year in Ann Arbor, told authorities he identified as an American citizen moments before casting a ballot.
Gao, who goes by Neil, was not a new arrival from China who stumbled into a voting booth. He attended elementary school in Seattle after being born in China. His family then returned to China, and then moved to Florida before his junior year of high school.
Gao is a green card holder, but he is not an American citizen and is not eligible to vote.
On October 27, 2024, Gao decided he was citizen enough to vote that day, according to police reports obtained by Michigan Enjoyer via public records request.
In police interviews, Gao claims he thought his status as a green card holder qualified him to vote.
Gao’s vote could not be separated from the others and was counted as a legal vote.
The United States does not have an extradition treaty with China.
Read the full article here
