Russian intelligence helped recruit and direct US political candidates and groups
On April 18, 2023, a federal grand jury in Florida indicted three Russian nationals and four American citizens for their roles in a multi-year malign influence campaign that was conducted on behalf of the Russian government and in coordination with the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB). The Russian defendants “recruited, funded, and directed” a candidate for local office in St. Petersburg, Florida as well as several US political groups across the United States. The African People’s Socialist Party and the Uhuru Movement in Florida, Black Hammer in Georgia, and a political group in California were all tied to the influence campaign, which lasted from at least November 2014 to July 2022. The operation was designed to sow discord in US politics and spread Russian propaganda. In part, the influence campaign was meant to create the appearance of US support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.