Uhuru Group Members Convicted of Conspiracy with Russian Agents
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A jury in federal court handed down a mixed verdict in the case that alleges four members of the Uhuru group, that has a base in St. Petersburg, conspired with Russians to interfere in American politics. The suspects were convicted of conspiring with Russian agents but acquitted of the even more serious charge of acting as agents of a foreign government. In an interview following the verdict, Uhuru chairman Omali Yeshitela, called the mixed verdict a full victory. "I didn't think it was that mixed," he said during an interview at the Uhuru House in South St.
Pete. "I thought it was an extraordinarily intelligent, important and good jury that rejected the line of the government that we were Russian agents. " The U. S. government said the Uhuru group, which fielded a candidate for mayor of St.
Pete in 2017, conspired with the founder of the anti-globalization movement of Russia. Prosecutors said founder Aleksandr Ionov was funded by the Russian government and successfully encouraged three Uhuru defendants, Omali Yeshitela, Penny Hess and eventual mayoral candidate Jesse Nevel, to petition the UN in 2015. The petition said the U. S. was actively committing genocide against African people.
"I don't think anything has been wrong with my communications," he said. Officials said Yeshitela and Hess then used $12,000 from Ionov to carry that message around the U. S. In 2017 and 2019, Ionov was accused of trying to influence elections in St. Pete, including to offer campaign finance help to Nevel.
Prosecutors also said Ionov told handlers in Russia that they were supervising a St. Pete City Council candidate in 2019. The Uhuru group denies those accusations. Members of the Uhuru movement in St. Petersburg are slamming the federal charges filed against them, calling the indictment "bogus.
" "I don't know whether the Russian government is pleased by discord in St. Pete. I can't speak for them," said Yeshitela. "What I can say is that as leaders of the African people, we will do whatever is necessary to raise these contradictions. " The attempts to influence the outcomes of the elections in St.
Pete were unsuccessful. But, they said.