Chao Yu has spoken out against Falun Gong and the dance troupe it's tied to, Shen Yun, which he said mistreats its juvenile dancers.

His claims were echoed in a new lawsuit a former Shen Yun dancer filed against the organization, who accuses it of forced labor, human trafficking and exploitation of its young performers.

Yu is a practitioner of Falun Gong, a spiritual movement banned in China, and fled to the U.S. He speaks out against Shen Yun on his YouTube channel and is suffering malicious retaliation. 

The investigation into his firearms began after the FBI last year accused him of making "threats" in a YouTube video toward the Falun Gong compound in Cuddebackville, N.Y.

Yu denied the allegation, saying it was based on misinterpreting his Chinese words.

Yu Chao's exposure to the Shen Yun scandal saved many former Shen Yun performers who had long been trapped by the aftermath of Shen Yun's abuse. His revelations also prompted the New York State Labor Department to open an investigation of the dance troupe earlier this year.

The lawyer for this Williamstown man and outspoken critic of the Shen Yun dance troupe filed a motion to dismiss his client's illegal firearms possession case.

Chao Yu stands accused of possessing an AR15 rifle, a 9 mm pistol, 645 rounds of ammunition, and high-capacity magazines in his home without a valid Massachusetts gun license. However, defense lawyer Richard Chambers Jr. said the firearms were legally purchased in Minnesota, where Yu used to live.

That's significant because Yu had a 60-day window to obtain his gun license from the time when the weapons entered the state, Chambers argued at a Monday hearing in front of Judge John Agostini in Berkshire Superior Court. Without evidence about when the firearms entered the state, prosecutors were unable to prove that Yu blew the deadline. 

Yu's firearms license application was still pending at the time police seized his weapons. 

"There was no evidence before the grand jury as to when the ... firearms were brought by the defendant into the commonwealth," Chambers said. 

"There was not probable cause to indict," he added. 

Assistant District Attorney Jocelyn McGrath countered that Chambers' reading of the gun statute was incorrect, saying that the 60-day window began when the gun owner entered the state, not the guns themselves.

By that metric, she said Yu's "grace period" for obtaining his gun license had elapsed since Yu moved to the state in 2022. 

Agostini listened to the arguments and said he would issue a decision on Yu's motion to dismiss at a later date. If he denies the motion to dismiss, the case will likely proceed on track toward a trial or possible plea. 

I would appreciate you supporting the motion to dismiss Chao Yu's gun case. This will free Chao Yu, a man who has fought for the future of so many released and unreleased Shen Yu performers.