Pastor Ezra Jin Mingri, leader of the underground Zion Church in China, was released and arrived in Los Angeles on Saturday, according to rights advocates and international observers. His release comes less than two months after former U.S. President Donald Trump brought up Jin’s case with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a state visit to Beijing in May.

Jin had been detained in October alongside 17 other church leaders in one of the largest crackdowns on a single religious group in China in recent years. The authorities targeted the Zion Church, which is among the largest unregistered Christian congregations in the country, operating outside the parameters set by the Chinese Communist Party. The party requires all religious groups to register with the state and prohibits worship within unregistered assemblies, reflecting its stance on religious activities.

Frances Hui of the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation confirmed Jin’s arrival in Los Angeles and described it as a reunion with his family. The Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, a coalition of Western legislators, also verified his release and shared a photograph showing the pastor alongside his daughter, Grace Jin Drexel.

The pastor’s detention had attracted international attention and criticism as an example of China’s tightening control over religious groups and increased restrictions on religious freedom. At the conclusion of his trip to China in May, Trump publicly stated that he had raised Jin’s case directly with Xi Jinping, who reportedly promised to give the request serious consideration.

Jin’s release marks a rare concession amid ongoing tensions between China and foreign governments over human rights and religious expression. However, authorities in China have maintained their position that unregistered religious organizations operate outside the law and justify regulatory enforcement as necessary to maintain social order.

The Zion Church’s experience highlights the broader challenges faced by underground Christian communities in China, many of which have faced harassment, closures, and the detention of leaders as Beijing enforces strict controls on all religious activity under the officially atheist Communist Party.