Russian Charged With Using US Groups to Sow Political Mayhem (1)

A Russian national allegedly orchestrated a years-long campaign to use US political groups to spread misinformation and sow political discord with the goal of undermining US democracy.

Aleksandr Viktorovich Ionov, a Moscow resident who leads a purported anti-globalization group, was named in an indictment unsealed on Friday in federal court in Tampa, Florida. He was charged with conspiring to enlist US citizens to act as illegal agents of a foreign government.

Justice Department officials say Ionov worked with Russian intelligence from at least December 2014 until March 2022 in a campaign aimed at cultivating US political groups as instruments of ...