In order to maintain the geopolitical war on Russia, eliminate any domestic resistance to that war, and to continue the Western drumbeat narrative of Russophobia, one of the recent targets of the FBI has been the Uhuru Movement—based in St. Petersburg, Florida for over 50 years. On Sept. 3 federal prosecutors took the movement to federal court on charges of being directed by Russian intelligence. The jury heard testimony from eleven FBI agents and two other witnesses to show that the movement was in contact with a Russian intelligence officer, Aleksandr Ionov. The FBI hoped to show that the Russian agent was able to “control and direct” the group’s activities.
In the end, after three days of testimony and 10 hours of deliberations, the all-White jury was split. The jury threw out the more serious charges of acting as foreign agents, but allowed the lesser charges of “conspiracy.” Defense lawyers have already announced their intentions to appeal the ruling. One of the defendants, Augustus C. Romain Jr. said the FBI was being used to silence any opposition to President Joe Biden’s agenda. During the proceedings Romain questioned why the FBI never arrests “bigger fish,” asking: “What kind of a fool arrests the small fish while letting the big fish go free?” Later, speaking to the press, one of the defense lawyers said that the split verdict sends a message to the U.S. government that “political prosecutions won’t work.”
