US charges four Americans, three Russians in election discord case

ST PETERSBURG, Fla (AP):

Four Americans affiliated with a Black empowerment and political organisation have been charged along with three Russians with conspiring to covertly sow discord in US society, spread Russian propaganda and interfere illegally in US elections, according to an indictment unsealed Tuesday.

The US citizens and two Russians were added to an existing case in Tampa, Florida, federal court involving Aleksandr Ionov, described by prosecutors as the founder of a Moscow-based organisation funded by the Russian government to carry out a clandestine influence campaign in the US.

The four Americans are all part of the African People’s Socialist Party and Uhuru Movement, which has locations in St Petersburg, Florida, and St Louis. Among those charged is Omali Yeshitela, chairman of the US-based organisation – which was raided by the FBI last summer when Ionov was originally charged.

“Russia’s foreign intelligence service allegedly weaponised our First Amendment rights – freedoms Russia denies to its own citizens – to divide Americans and interfere in elections in the United States,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division.

“The department will not hesitate to expose and prosecute those who sow discord and corrupt US elections in service of hostile foreign interests, regardless of whether the culprits are US citizens or foreign individuals abroad,” Olsen said in a news release.

Yeshitela and three other US citizens – Penny Joanne Hess, Jesse Nevel and Augustus C. Romain Jr – are charged with conspiracy to defraud the US. Hess, Yeshitela and Nevel are also charged with impersonating agents of a foreign government. Ionov and the other two Russians, who remain in their country, face the fraud conspiracy charge.

Court records did not list attorneys for any of the seven defendants, and it wasn’t immediately clear if they have been arrested. An email seeking comment was sent to the African People’s Socialist Party, which has previously denied working covertly for Russia or that any members committed a crime.