US Activists Convicted of Conspiring to Act as Illegal Russian Agents

Four U.S. activists were convicted this week of conspiring to act as illegal Russian agents within the United States.
On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that a jury “convicted Omali Yeshitela, 82, Penny Hess, 78, Jesse Nevel, 34, all of St. Louis, and Augustus C. Romain Jr., 38, of Atlanta, of conspiracy to act as agents of a foreign government.”
“The defendants were charged in a superseding indictment on April 13, 2023,” the Justice Department said.
The conspiracy charges against the four individuals carry a prison sentence of up to five years. As of Thursday, the court has not yet announced a sentencing date.
All four individuals convicted were associated with the African People’s Socialist Party and its Uhuru Movement, which operates in St. Petersburg, Florida and St. Louis.
Yeshitela is the 82-year-old chairman of the U.S.-based African People’s Socialist Party, which advocates for Black empowerment and reparations for slavery and what it describes as the historical genocide of Africans.
Also convicted were Hess and Nevel, who are leaders of the group’s white ally branches. The fourth defendant, Augustus C. Romain Jr., 38, was expelled from the Uhuru Movement in 2018 and went on to establish his own group, The Black Hammer, in Atlanta.
Yeshitela, Hess, and Nevel had faced more serious charges of acting as agents of a foreign government, but the jury found them not guilty of those charges.
Prosecutors accused the defendants of knowingly collaborating with the Russian government to aid the Kremlin in spreading political discord and interfering in U.S. elections.
“According to evidence presented at trial, from at least May 2015 until July 2022, Yeshitela, Hess and Nevel agreed to act on behalf of the Russian government within the United States. Aleksandr Viktorovich Ionov, a resident of Moscow, was the founder and president of the Anti-Globalization Movement of Russia (AGMR), an organization headquartered in Moscow, Russia, and funded by the Russian government,” the Justice Department said.
Defense attorneys contended that Ionov, the leader of the Anti-Globalization Movement of Russia, hid his ties to Russian intelligence from the Uhuru group. They also described the government’s case as a “dangerous” threat to First Amendment rights, arguing that the prosecution aimed to silence the Uhurus for their political views.
Prosecutors also said that three Russian individuals, who are described as Russian intelligence agents, are also facing charges in the case. However, they have not yet been arrested.
Prosecutors alleged that members of the group, under Russian direction, organized protests in 2016 accusing the U.S. of committing genocide against Black Americans. They also claimed the group continued to act in Russia’s interests over the next six years, including voicing opposition to U.S. policy during the war in Ukraine.
Defense attorneys argued that, despite their links to the Russian organization, the African People’s Socialist Party and Uhuru Movement have remained consistent with the principles they’ve upheld for over 50 years. Founded by Yeshitela in 1972, the group has long advocated for Black empowerment.
This article includes reporting from The Associated Press.