FBI RAID Reported – Socialist Organization Named as Target!
(TheRedWire.com) – Over the last six years, numerous government officials said Russia significantly spread misinformation during US elections. Still, it’s difficult for federal law enforcement officials to hold bad actors accountable if they can’t find them in the United States. On Friday, July 29, the FBI got a break. Agents raided the headquarters of a Florida-based 50-year-old socialist group with ties to the Kremlin.
In an unsealed indictment, the Department of Justice (DOJ) accused Aleksandr Viktorovich Ionov of attempting to destabilize and undermine the US democratic system. The DOJ issued a press release discussing the charges. US Attorney Roger Handberg stated he spread pro-Russia propaganda across the country with the assistance of the Russian Federal Security Service. Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen noted that Ionov tried to influence political groups and citizens to turn them into tools of the Kremlin.
FBI Raids Radical Socialist Org Accused Of Being A Russian Front https://t.co/tZrsN3pnax
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) August 2, 2022
DOJ representatives said the suspect was a citizen of Moscow and explained three other individuals aided him for years in a scheme targeting the United States. Olsen stated the Justice Department wouldn’t allow the Russians to sow division and spread misinformation in the US. Officials said Ionov’s purpose was to influence elections and sow distrust among Americans. The prosecutor added the United States wouldn’t allow a foreign entity to interfere with the democratic process.
The Justice Department charged Ionov with conspiring to have US citizens act as illegal agents of Russia’s government. The maximum penalty if convicted is five years in prison.
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