Sputnik International By Mary Manley
The activists, who fight for the rights of Black people and others in the US, have been accused of trying to “sow division” in the US because they oppose US policy regarding the war in Ukraine.
Four activists who have been accused of “illegally” acting as Russian agents to somehow help the Kremlin create political discord and interference in US elections will go to trial in Florida on Tuesday, CBS News reported. The four activists are associated with the African People’s Socialist Party and the Uhuru Movement with locations in the US cities of St. Petersburg and St. Louis. One of the activists is Omali Yeshitela, 82, whose organization focuses on Black empowerment and reparations for slavery.
An attorney for the 82-year-old activist said that while the civil rights group shared many goals of the Anti-Globalization Movement of Russia, they were not acting under the Kremlin’s control. The judge handling the case said it is unrelated to claims of Russia interfering in the 2016 US presidential election. All four activists have pleaded not guilty.
Jeremy Kuzmarov, a managing editor of Covert Action magazine, the author of several books on US foreign policy, joined The Final Countdown on Wednesday to discuss the US government’s continued attacks on dissidents and independent thinkers in the states.
“Omali Yeshitela, he’s over 80 years old, and he’s written like 10 books and he’s a very intelligent person. He’d been involved in activism since the ‘60s. He was involved with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. And, they sent in like tanks in his home, and there were drones in his house, and he and his wife were terrorized. This is an 80-plus year old man, and it was overkill,” Kuzmarov explained. “It’s really overkill, and it’s no threat to America’s security.”
“With assault rifles pointed at my chest, they forced me out of the house along with my wife Ona Zené Yeshitela, a critical leader of our movement,” said the activist, who acknowledged traveling to Russia and other countries for conferences. “Even though we were not formally under arrest and faced no charges, they handcuffed us and told us to sit on the curb, which we refused to do.”
It was not until nine months after they raided their homes that the US DOJ announced indictments against the civil rights leaders…
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