We look at a federal indictment of four U.S. citizens for alleged election interference that has received little press attention despite its major implications for free speech and activism in the country. In April, the Biden administration charged four members of a pan-Africanist group with conspiring with the Russian government to sow discord in U.S. elections. Omali Yeshitela, chair of the African People’s Socialist Party, faces charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States, along with Penny Hess, Jesse Nevel and Augustus Romain Jr. Three Russians were also named in an indictment unsealed by the Justice Department on Tuesday. This follows a violent FBI raid on the activists’ properties in Missouri and Florida last summer. “It’s very clear that this is about more than what the government has said it’s about,” says Yeshitela, arguing the real objective in the case is “to destroy our movement.”
This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.