https://sputnikglobe.com/20240905/political-witch-hunt-us-activists-go-to-trial-in-florida-accused-of-acting-as-russian-agents-1120019974.html

Political Witch Hunt: US Activists Go to Trial in Florida, Accused of Acting as Russian Agents

Sputnik International

The four activists are associated with the African People’s Socialist Party and the Uhuru Movement with locations in the US cities of St. Petersburg and St. Louis.

2024-09-05T02:34+0000

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Four activists who have been accused of “illegally” acting as Russian agents to somehow help the Kremlin create political discord and interference in US elections will go to trial in Florida on Tuesday, CBS News reported. The four activists are associated with the African People’s Socialist Party and the Uhuru Movement with locations in the US cities of St. Petersburg and St. Louis. One of the activists is Omali Yeshitela, 82, whose organization focuses on Black empowerment and reparations for slavery.An attorney for the 82-year-old activist said that while the civil rights group shared many goals of the Anti-Globalization Movement of Russia, they were not acting under the Kremlin’s control. The judge handling the case said it is unrelated to claims of Russia interfering in the 2016 US presidential election. All four activists have pleaded not guilty.Jeremy Kuzmarov, a managing editor of Covert Action magazine, the author of several books on US foreign policy, joined The Final Countdown on Wednesday to discuss the US government's continued attacks on dissidents and independent thinkers in the states. Writing about the attack for Green Left, Yeshitela said that at 5 AM on Friday in July of 2022, about 30 Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents and police in armored vehicles used flash-bang grenades and broke down the door of his home. At the same time, other Uhuru Movement leaders also had their homes raided. Yeshitela said that the FBI agents did not show him any warrant, and said the raid was connected to the indictment of a “Russian man who is in Russia who was supposedly spreading ‘Russian influence’ in the US."“With assault rifles pointed at my chest, they forced me out of the house along with my wife Ona Zené Yeshitela, a critical leader of our movement,” said the activist, who acknowledged traveling to Russia and other countries for conferences. “Even though we were not formally under arrest and faced no charges, they handcuffed us and told us to sit on the curb, which we refused to do.”It was not until nine months after they raided their homes that the US DOJ announced indictments against the civil rights leaders.Prosecutors wrote in the 2023 indictment that Aleksandr Viktorovich Ionov engaged with the four defendants “for years” and urged them to make pro-Russian statements while paying for their travel. He also allegedly paid for two unsuccessful political campaigns for St. Petersburg City Council and a protest tour to raise awareness of the genocide against African people in the US. The total amount of payments to the defendants seems to be at least $10,000, according to a report from the New York Times.Jill Stein, an American physician, activist, and politician as well as the US Green Party’s nominee for the 2024 US presidential election, said the “attack on the Uhuru Three is fundamentally an attack on free speech, on our right to oppose endless wars and economic oppression abroad.” She added that the attack was on “our right to oppose the cost of these endless wars at home, namely economic austerity and the war on democracy."The US Department of Justice began a broad criminal investigation into US citizens who have worked with Russian state television networks, according to a report released last month.Former UN weapons inspector Scott Ritter, who is a critic of US foreign policy and Dimitri K. Simes, Russian TV Channel One presenter and founder of the US-based think tank Center for the National Interest, had their homes searched by FBI agents. Charges have not been made against either men. However, electric equipment was seized from Ritter, while Simes said agents removed artwork from his home in Virginia and froze multiple bank accounts.

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Political Witch Hunt: US Activists Go to Trial in Florida, Accused of Acting as Russian Agents

02:34 GMT 05.09.2024

© Sputnik / Mikhail Voskresenskiy / Go to the mediabankChairman of the Uhuru international movement Omali Yeshitela (right) at the international expert conference "Dialogue of Nations. The Right of Nations to Self-Determination and Construction of a Multi-Polar World" in Moscow's President Hotel

Chairman of the Uhuru international movement Omali Yeshitela (right) at the international expert conference Dialogue of Nations. The Right of Nations to Self-Determination and Construction of a Multi-Polar World in Moscow's President Hotel - Sputnik International, 1920, 05.09.2024

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The activists, who fight for the rights of Black people and others in the US, have been accused of trying to “sow division” in the US because they oppose US policy regarding the war in Ukraine.

An attorney for the 82-year-old activist said that while the civil rights group shared many goals of the Anti-Globalization Movement of Russia, they were not acting under the Kremlin’s control. The judge handling the case said it is unrelated to claims of Russia interfering in the 2016 US presidential election. All four activists have pleaded not guilty.

Jeremy Kuzmarov, a managing editor of Covert Action magazine, the author of several books on US foreign policy, joined The Final Countdown on Wednesday to discuss the US government's continued attacks on dissidents and independent thinkers in the states.

“Omali Yeshitela, he's over 80 years old, and he's written like 10 books and he’s a very intelligent person. He'd been involved in activism since the ‘60s. He was involved with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. And, they sent in like tanks in his home, and there were drones in his house, and he and his wife were terrorized. This is an 80-plus year old man, and it was overkill,” Kuzmarov explained. “It's really overkill, and it's no threat to America's security.”

Writing about the attack for Green Left, Yeshitela said that at 5 AM on Friday in July of 2022, about 30 Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents and police in armored vehicles used flash-bang grenades and broke down the door of his home. At the same time, other Uhuru Movement leaders also had their homes raided. Yeshitela said that the FBI agents did not show him any warrant, and said the raid was connected to the indictment of a “Russian man who is in Russia who was supposedly spreading ‘Russian influence’ in the US."

“With assault rifles pointed at my chest, they forced me out of the house along with my wife Ona Zené Yeshitela, a critical leader of our movement,” said the activist, who acknowledged traveling to Russia and other countries for conferences. “Even though we were not formally under arrest and faced no charges, they handcuffed us and told us to sit on the curb, which we refused to do.”

It was not until nine months after they raided their homes that the US DOJ announced indictments against the civil rights leaders.

Omali Yeshitela, the leader of the Uhuru Movement - Sputnik International, 1920, 20.04.2023

Analysis

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20 April 2023, 03:57 GMT

“...it's possible that the Feds have something concrete on this Uhuru group, that they're taking it to trial, that they feel they can convince a jury. So, I don't know how strong their case is," said Kuzmarov. "I think on a broader level, it looks to be kind of a political witch hunt. And then, as far as the money invested, yeah, I mean, the US is like, you know, crying about Russian interference when, as it’s pointed out, this group had no influence at all.”

Prosecutors wrote in the 2023 indictment that Aleksandr Viktorovich Ionov engaged with the four defendants “for years” and urged them to make pro-Russian statements while paying for their travel. He also allegedly paid for two unsuccessful political campaigns for St. Petersburg City Council and a protest tour to raise awareness of the genocide against African people in the US. The total amount of payments to the defendants seems to be at least $10,000, according to a report from the New York Times.

“...sometimes you get invited to a conference and this kind of, this organization invited you and maybe you have some connection with the Russian government, but you don't even know that, you know, you're going to a human rights conference,” the analyst explained.

“I think we're seeing a more authoritarian form, a more overt authoritarian government. I mean, in the past, dissidents have faced all kinds of harassment and marginalization, but usually they weren't outright arrested, or had the FBI raiding their home with tanks. And that's what we're seeing now,” he added.

Jill Stein, an American physician, activist, and politician as well as the US Green Party’s nominee for the 2024 US presidential election, said the “attack on the Uhuru Three is fundamentally an attack on free speech, on our right to oppose endless wars and economic oppression abroad.” She added that the attack was on “our right to oppose the cost of these endless wars at home, namely economic austerity and the war on democracy."

“And yeah, Scott Ritter, I mean, he's a patriotic American who served in the Marine Corps and Marine intelligence. And they've really gone after him because, I think, he's an insider and they want to send a message to other people not to become whistleblowers," said Kuzmarov. "So they've really thrown the mat at him.”

The US Department of Justice began a broad criminal investigation into US citizens who have worked with Russian state television networks, according to a report released last month.

Former UN weapons inspector Scott Ritter, who is a critic of US foreign policy and Dimitri K. Simes, Russian TV Channel One presenter and founder of the US-based think tank Center for the National Interest, had their homes searched by FBI agents. Charges have not been made against either men. However, electric equipment was seized from Ritter, while Simes said agents removed artwork from his home in Virginia and froze multiple bank accounts.

A signboard of the Rossiya Segodnya international news agency at the entrance to the agency's building. - Sputnik International, 1920, 04.09.2024

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