US court finds four Americans guilty of illegally working for Russian authorities

A US jury has found four American citizens, aged 34 to 82, guilty of conspiring to conduct illegal activities for the Russian government, the US Department of Justice reported.

The jury found that the founder and head of the African People's Socialist Party (APSP) Omali Yeshitela, two other party leaders Penny Hess and Jesse Nevel, and former party leader and founder of the Black Hammer organization Augustus Romaine worked on behalf of Russia in the United States from 2015 to 2022.

According to evidence presented in court, the four collaborated with the founder of the Anti-Globalization Movement of Russia, Alexander Ionov, who was allegedly linked to the Russian FSB and involved the defendants in promoting Russian interests in the United States.

In May 2015, Ionov invited Yeshitela to Russia, paying for his trip in full. Before that, Hess had conveyed to Ionov a request to arrange a meeting between Yeshitela and an “official representative of the Russian government.” Later, in correspondence with the other defendants, Yeshitela explained that it had become “obvious” to him that Ionov was a tool of the Russian government. He also wrote that Ionov represented “a method by which the Russian government is waging a serious fight against the United States and Europe,” using “forces inside the United States to sow discord inside” the United States.

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On Ionov's instructions, the four carried out several actions in the United States. For example, in August 2015, he demanded that Yeshitela, Hess, and Nevel draft and publish a petition to the UN accusing the United States of allegedly “committing genocide against the African people.” Ionov later promoted the petition drawn up by Hess in Russian media, the case materials say.

In January 2016, Ionov provided a letter of guarantee to finance a four-city tour to promote a genocide petition, the Justice Department said. Following the tour, Yeshitela, speaking at an ANSP meeting, said the party had “established relationships with forces in Russia that are involved in our fight against the United States.”

In 2017 and 2019, Ionov attempted to influence local elections in St. Petersburg, Florida, on behalf of the FSB, although there is no evidence he succeeded, the Justice Department said. In 2017, Nevel ran for mayor of St. Petersburg, and Ionov offered him support, including “campaign financing,” the case documents say.

In 2022, after Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Yeshitela and Romein, at Ionov's direction, participated in demonstrations in California that called for “the suppression of pro-Russian opinion,” the Justice Department said.

Each of the defendants faces up to five years in prison. A sentencing date has not yet been announced.

Prepared by: Sergey Daga