[ad_1]
WASHINGTON – A 44-year-old Russian national, who was working for a Russian oligarch, participated in a social media campaign aimed at sowing mistrust of the US political system in anticipation of the 2018 elections, announced charges in connection with a criminal complaint opened Friday.
Prosecutors say that Elena Alekseevna Khusyaynova, of St. Petersburg, Russia, was working as chief accountant of the "Lakhta Project," a type of operation that had previously been described as a "troll farm." two of his companies. Prigozhin was one of 13 Russians indicted in the special advocate's investigation in February on charges of interference in the 2016 elections.
"The strategic goal of this so-called conspiracy, which continues today, is to sow discord in the American political system and undermine confidence in our democratic institutions," said G. Zachary Terwilliger, American counsel for the Eastern District of Virginia, in a statement.
Federal prosecutors, who said they received "exceptional cooperation" from Facebook and Twitter, said the campaign was centered on "a wide range of topics, including immigration, gun control and the second. amendment, the Confederate flag, race relations, LGBT issues, the role of women ". March, and the debate on the national anthem of the NFL. "
"Conspiracy members took advantage of specific events in the United States to root their themes, including the shooting of church members in Charleston, South Carolina, and spectators at a Las Vegas concert ; the "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville and the violence associated with it; shootings by the police of African-American men; as well as the staff and political decisions of the current US Presidential Administration, "said the DOJ in its press release.
According to the criminal complaint, Khusyaynova was managing the finances of the Lakhta project, controlling expenses such as "spending for activists, ads on social networks, registration of domain names, the purchase of proxy servers and the "promotion of publications on social networks." Lakhta Total Project Budget From January 2016 to June 2018, the total expenditure amounted to $ 35 million, but the Department of Justice stated that only a portion of that money went to US operations.
Prosecutors unveiled the charges shortly after the Justice Department, the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security, and the National Intelligence Director's Office released a joint statement on foreign interference in the 2018 elections. There is no evidence of an "infrastructure disruption compromise that would allow opponents to prevent the vote, to change the count of votes or to disrupt our ability." to count the votes in the mid-term elections ", but that foreign powers were seeking to" exploit America's freedom and open political system. "
[ad_2]Source link
