Ren Zhiqiang, a former Chinese property tycoon and prominent critic of the Communist Party, went on trial in Beijing on Friday for four offenses including corruption after his searing attack on President Xi Jinping’s response to the coronavirus epidemic proved too much for authorities to tolerate.

Ren, 69, appeared at the Second Intermediate People’s Court in Beijing, his first known appearance since he was detained in March. The former chairman of Huayuan Real Estate Group is accused of corruption, bribery, embezzling public funds and abuse of power, according to a notice published by Beijing prosecutors.

The tycoon, whose criticism of Xi and the authorities won him a massive online following and the nickname “Big Cannon,” disappeared about a month after he wrote a vitriolic article that portrayed Xi as a power-hungry clown in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I see not an emperor standing there exhibiting his ‘new clothes,’ but a clown who stripped naked and insisted on continuing to be an emperor,” he wrote, according to China Digital Times, an online news aggregator based in the U.S.

Ren’s detention came as the Chinese Communist Party cracked down on any sign of dissent amid intense criticism over its handling of the coronavirus outbreak, which has claimed more than 4,500 lives in China and sickened 85,000 people. At least two officials were unseated in February this year.

Several supporters of Ren assembled outside the court. One, who declined to disclose his identity, said the crimes Ren was accused of were about his “age-old stories.”

“His transaction records are clean,” said another person, who identified himself as a retired accountant. “Does someone as affluent as he is need to commit bribery?”

Ren was also expelled from the party in August.

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