US takes action against 4 American and 3 Russian citizens in 'malign influence' campaign

In a recent development, a federal grand jury in Florida has indicted four US citizens and three Russian nationals on charges of allegedly working on behalf of the Russian government to conduct a "multi-year foreign malign influence campaign in the United States," as reported by the US Justice Department on April 18. Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen stated that Russia's foreign intelligence service has been accused of weaponising the First Amendment rights, which are denied to its own citizens, to sow division among Americans and interfere in US elections, as per a report from The Kyiv Independent.

The Acting Assistant Director Kurt Ronnow of the FBI's Counterintelligence Division described the recently announced indictment as revealing a "harrowing picture" of the extensive efforts made by the Russian government and intelligence services to interfere in elections and create discord in American society. The press release stated that Aleksandr Ionov, a Moscow resident, is alleged to have founded the Anti-Globalization Movement of Russia (AGMR) and used it as a vehicle for his influence campaign.

What exactly did they do?

Well, according to the US Justice Department's press release, Aleksandr Ionov, along with two other Russian nationals, Aleksey Sukhodolov and Yegor Popov, clandestinely funded and directed a political campaign for a local candidate in Florida, in 2019.  Ionov was also alleged to have recruited US citizens from political groups to participate in an influence campaign on behalf of Russia, including promoting support for Russia's illegal annexation of Ukrainian territories.

The US Justice Department's press release suggests that after Russia initiated a full-scale war against Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, Ionov allegedly hosted events where he made statements linking support for Ukraine with Nazism and white supremacy. U.S. citizens reportedly expressed "solidarity" with the Russian government at these events.