A jury today convicted four individuals for their involvement in a conspiracy to act as agents of the Russian government within the United States. Omali Yeshitela, 82, Penny Hess, 78, and Jesse Nevel, 34, all of St. Louis, and Augustus C. Romain Jr., 38, of Atlanta, were found guilty of conspiring to advance Russian influence through various activities, including political manipulation and propaganda, as charged in an April 2023 superseding indictment.
According to evidence presented at trial, between May 2015 and July 2022, Yeshitela, Hess, and Nevel — leaders of the African People’s Socialist Party (APSP) — and Romain, a former high-level APSP member who later formed a group called Black Hammer, acted at the direction of Aleksandr Viktorovich Ionov, a Russian national based in Moscow. Ionov, founder of the Anti-Globalization Movement of Russia (AGMR), was working under the supervision of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB). Ionov provided financial and strategic support to the defendants, seeking to foment division within the U.S. and promote Russia’s geopolitical interests.
Ionov funded trips, provided resources, and directed actions that included drafting and promoting petitions accusing the U.S. of genocide against African Americans, organizing demonstrations in support of Russian interests, and attempting to influence local elections. Ionov’s efforts extended to supporting Russian-backed secessionist movements in Ukraine, with Yeshitela and others promoting these causes in public forums.
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Ionov intensified efforts to manipulate public opinion in favor of Russia, directing the defendants to organize protests at social media and media company headquarters in California and Georgia to voice opposition to perceived censorship of pro-Russian views.
U.S. Attorney officials emphasized the significance of the convictions, highlighting the seriousness of foreign interference efforts aimed at undermining U.S. democratic processes and national security.