Members of a Black Nationalist group were arrested and criminally charged, seemingly for expressing their political opinions. The Department of Justice charged them under the criminal stature of "acting as agents of a foreign government". If I am understanding this correctly, this seems like a new government low. What it seems to me is that progressives did not like what this Black Nationalist group was saying. In the minds of many progressives, blacks are "supposed" to get onboard the boat with the Democrat Party and progressive beliefs, so certain things this Black Nationalist group were saying were embarrassing to them and seen as intolerable. So I suspect charging them under this highly questionable interpretation of the law is just an excuse to seek reprisal against them, for their message and political beliefs. The FBI announced on Tuesday that Omali Yeshitela, Penny Joanne Hess, Jesse Nevel, and Augustus C. Romain have been arrested for working as agents of the Russian government. All people arrested have connections to the far-left organization, The African People’s Socialist Party. This organization is calling for a Marxist revolution in America and reparations, too. According to DOJ filings, the far-left group The African People’s Socialist Party worked as an agent for the Russian government, "Moreover, from at least November 2014 until July 2022, Ionov allegedly engaged in a years-long foreign malign influence campaign targeting the United States. As a part of the campaign, Ionov allegedly recruited members of political groups within the United States, including the African People’s Socialist Party and the Uhuru Movement (collectively, the APSP) in Florida, Black Hammer in Georgia and a political group in California (referred to in the superseding indictment as U.S. Political Group 3), to participate in the influence campaign and act as agents of Russia in the United States." Far Left Black Power Groups Charged for Being Agents of the Russian Government, National File, Charles Downs, April 21, 2023 What I get out of this is more Russian BS. The Biden administration doesn't like what the group says so they completely ignore their First Amendment rights and charge them as agents. To be an agent money would need to pass hands, I see no evidence of that happening.
It worked against Trump. Precedent set. On to the uncooperative blacks trying to leave the proggy plantation... that's how it always goes. Whayda wanna bet they're pro gun rights and antivax?
The Populist Right does not like it when either right wing or leftist organizations & individuals are charged with Russian Collusion. The Populist Right wants to protect Russian interests. The fact that DOJ will apprehend and charge any organisation that colludes with Russia, regardless of politician persuasion, supports a lack of bias in how the DOJ operates. The only bias I see, repeatedly, is from the Populist Right, who unduly whines when Russian nationalists interests within the US are thwarted.
Colluding/conspiring with Russia, what can be more traitorous? The Russians KNOW their marks. Anyhow, a court of law will decide.
You would think Russian Collusion would make a bigger news splash than this, but I see none of the usual suspects in this thread. U.S. Citizens and Russian Intelligence Officers Charged with Conspiring to Use U.S. Citizens as Illegal Agents of the Russian Government Defendants Sought to Sow Discord, Spread Pro-Russia Propaganda and Interfere in Elections Within the United States A federal grand jury in Tampa, Florida, returned a superseding indictment charging four U.S. citizens and three Russian nationals with working on behalf of the Russian government and in conjunction with the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) to conduct a multi-year foreign malign influence campaign in the United States. Among other conduct, the superseding indictment alleges that the Russian defendants recruited, funded and directed U.S. political groups to act as unregistered illegal agents of the Russian government and sow discord and spread pro-Russian propaganda; the indicted intelligence officers, in particular, participated in covertly funding and directing candidates for local office within the United States. Moreover, from at least November 2014 until July 2022, Ionov allegedly engaged in a years-long foreign malign influence campaign targeting the United States. As a part of the campaign, Ionov allegedly recruited members of political groups within the United States, including the African People’s Socialist Party and the Uhuru Movement (collectively, the APSP) in Florida, Black Hammer in Georgia and a political group in California (referred to in the superseding indictment as U.S. Political Group 3), to participate in the influence campaign and act as agents of Russia in the United States, including the following indicted defendants: Omali Yeshitela, a U.S. citizen residing in St. Petersburg, Florida, and St. Louis, Missouri, who served as the chairman and founder of the APSP; Penny Joanne Hess, a U.S. citizen residing in St. Petersburg, Florida, and St. Louis, Missouri, who served as the leader of a component of the APSP; Jesse Nevel, a U.S. citizen residing in St. Petersburg, Florida, and St. Louis, Missouri, who served as a member of a component of the APSP; and Augustus C. Romain Jr., aka Gazi Kodzo, a U.S. citizen residing in St. Petersburg, Florida, and Atlanta, who served as a leader of the APSP and a founder of Black Hammer in Georgia. I remember that Black Hammer organization. They were planning to start a black ethno-state in the US. Guess they needed more funding. It's amazing that real Russian Collusion gets almost zero press coverage but fake Russian collusion dominated the headlines for years.
I doubt that accepting money from an anonymous source, accepting money from another country, or even accepting money from a known foreign government, actually constitutes as "working as a foreign agent". For that, they would have had to take orders from the foreigner giving them money, have carried out political activities at the behead of the Russians. If the Russian Intelligence services were trying to "sow disorder and discord", that does not make it illegal for an American organization with controversial political beliefs/objectives to accept that money as a no-strings-attached donation. The only way this could have been a violation of the law is if they were paid to spread messages that the Russians wanted them to spread, messages that they would not already have spread anyway, of their own accord and own desire, if given the money.
Well the DoJ statement just did not give that kind of evidence. However my suspicion is that the evidence may be overwhelming because I'm surprised that they would pursue a case against groups that otherwise would be administration allies.
Is there any particular reason you want agents of the Russian government to operate freely in US? U.S. Citizens and Russian Intelligence Officers Charged with Conspiring to Use U.S. Citizens as Illegal Agents of the Russian Government Defendants Sought to Sow Discord, Spread Pro-Russia Propaganda and Interfere in Elections Within the United States A federal grand jury in Tampa, Florida, returned a superseding indictment charging four U.S. citizens and three Russian nationals with working on behalf of the Russian government
You seem to be playing semantics. They weren't really "agents" or doing anything they shouldn't have been doing. (ignoring for a moment whether there does exist a law that could conceivably criminalize them) It seems to me people like you have abandoned all logic and truthfulness and will just defend anything to the bitter end if it supports your agenda, or helps protect your leaders from being made to look bad. Media articles trying to characterize something as such does not mean it's a "fact". (Or maybe people like you have to rely on simple media characterizations because looking at the actual underlying facts and trying to interpretate them yourself is too complicated)
Its not semantics "U.S. Citizens and Russian Intelligence Officers Charged with Conspiring to Use U.S. Citizens as Illegal Agents of the Russian Government" That's the difference between us. I have pro-US agenda, and you have pro-Russia agenda, which is why you defend the Russian agents.
This seems to be another example where people like you did not use critical thought. You realize, don't you, that this is a big stretch of the law? The prosecutor apparently is not referring to one law, but is trying to combine together two separate laws to make a crime. This is practically like inventing a crime. It sounds like the prosecutor is claiming they were "planning" to act on behalf of Russia. Take an already really dubious law and stretch it in an even more questionable way.
When you engage your "critical thinking" you always end up rooting for Russia. Its not just a prosecutor saying something, its a federal grand jury, who has reviewed the evidence and reached a ruling. So, let me ask again, - why do you defend them? Defendants Sought to Sow Discord, Spread Pro-Russia Propaganda and Interfere in Elections Within the United States A federal grand jury in Tampa, Florida, returned a superseding indictment charging four U.S. citizens and three Russian nationals with working on behalf of the Russian government and in conjunction with the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) to conduct a multi-year foreign malign influence campaign in the United States. Among other conduct, the superseding indictment alleges that the Russian defendants recruited, funded and directed U.S. political groups to act as unregistered illegal agents of the Russian government and sow discord and spread pro-Russian propaganda; the indicted intelligence officers, in particular, participated in covertly funding and directing candidates for local office within the United States. Additionally, in a separate case out of the District of Columbia, a criminal complaint was unsealed charging Russian national Natalia Burlinova with conspiring with an FSB officer to act as an illegal agent of Russia in the United States. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/us-c...rs-charged-conspiring-use-us-citizens-illegal
Why do the authorities go to the hassle of investigating suspects, gathering all the evidence, building a case and presenting it to a Grand Jury when they could just send you a link from a partisan website and have you tell them what to do?
