"As the materials of the court case are classified, the interests of this woman of Russia illustrate her need for a qualified lawyer," the embassy wrote on Facebook, vowing to "continue to defend" her rights with legal advocacy.
The embassy added that on Wednesday there will be a hearing on Butina's case and that they plan to send a representative.
Butina, a longtime advocate of gun rights in Russia and a recent graduate of DC's American University, where she studied international relations, is widely believed to have worked with the US National Rifle Association (NRA). She is accused of conspiring with a Russian official via email and Twitter direct messages as well as emailing a US "person in an effort to develop, maintain, and exploit a relationship," among other similar offenses.
"The substance of the charge in the Complaint is overblown," her lawyer said in a statement obtained by Sputnik News on Monday. It was a "misuse of the Foreign Agent statute, which is designed to punish covert propaganda, not open and public networking by foreign students," he said.