3 Indicted in St. Louis for Russian Plot to ‘Sow Discord’ in the U.S.

the United States’ democratic processes.

Last summer, the FBI raided Uhuru properties in St. Louis and St. Petersburg as well as some of its members’ homes, including Yeshitela’s.

The African People’s Socialist Party has since called the raids a “racist attack.” Members have also planned protests against Regions Bank and called on customers to close their accounts after the bank “abruptly” closed the African People’s Education and Defense Fund’s accounts.

Written by MONICA OBRADOVIC

An indictment unsealed last week accuses leaders of a local Black liberation group of assisting a Russian nationalist in orchestrating a yearslong campaign to sow discord in the United States and spread pro-Russian propaganda.

The indictment alleges St. Louis residents Omali Yeshitela, Penny Hess and Jesse Nevel of the African People’s Socialist Party conspired with Aleksandr Ionov. Ionov was accused of using various U.S. political groups as foreign agents of Russia without notification to the attorney general in an indictment last summer.

According to the indictment, Ionov recruited these political groups starting as early as October 2013 to attend conferences sponsored by the Anti-Globalization Movement of Russia and funded by the Russian government. At the conferences, the indictment alleges, Ionov entered into a partnership with certain U.S.

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Judge Millikan said that he wanted to hold the contempt hearing because, “What I’m trying to do is bring some semblance of order to this circuit.”

The judge went on to tell Polta, “Between you and Mr. Hinckley, something fell through the cracks.” Millikan added that Gardner bore some responsibility as well.

Millikan ultimately opted to not hold anyone in contempt. He then had to rule on whether Jones, who has been in jail since he was 16, should be free on bond while his case continues to work its way through the courts. The judge acknowledged that it’s getting more and more difficult for judges to balance the rights of defendants to speedy trials with the wishes of victims’ families as well as the more general concerns of public safety. Millikan ordered Jones to remain in custody pending his trial, which is now set for June 5.

Despite the media attention the Jones case has received in the past week, as well as the broader turmoil in Gardner’s office, things were relatively placid in the courtroom Monday morning.

However, when Polta first entered the separatist groups.

Yeshitela is the founder and chairman of the African People’s Socialist Party and the Uhuru Movement. The Uhuru Movement is based in St. Petersburg, Florida, but has several members and outposts throughout St. Louis.

Penny Hess serves as chairwoman of the African People’s Solidarity Committee, part of the African People’s Socialist Party. Jesse Nevel chairs the Uhuru Solidarity Movement, which organizes white people to push for reparations across the U.S. and in Europe.

In 2015, the indictment alleges, Yeshitela traveled to Russia and entered the African People’s Socialist Party into a partnership with Ionov and the AntiGlobalization Movement of Russia, or AGMR, knowing that Ionov and AGMR were agents of the Russian government.

Yeshitela, Hess and Nevel subsequently engaged in a years-long relationship with Ionov. They’ve been charged with unlawfully advancing pro-Russia propaganda and false information about the conflict in Ukraine as part of Ionov’s effort to reduce trust and confidence in

At a press briefing after the raids, Yeshitela said he had never accepted money from the Russian government, but said he “apologizes for not receiving money from Russia.”

He said the African People’s Socialist Party is not composed of pacifists. They believe in “just wars” that are “fought by people who are trying to liberate themselves.

“We don’t just support Russia in this war against Ukraine, we support Palestine,” Yeshitela said.

He later added: “Don’t tell us that we can’t have friends that you don’t like.”

Organizations of the African People’s Socialist Party have led a number of initiatives in north St. Louis. The group has built a farmers’ market and basketball court. Black Power Blueprint, an initiative based in St. Louis, supports a doula training project and is working to open a bakery/cafe through its African Independence Workforce Program.

In a statement to St. Louis Public Radio, Yeshitela said he could not comment on the indictment. “However, I am looking forward to my day in court.” n the way?” courtroom, Gardner’s attorney, Downey, was seated at the prosecutor’s table. Not wanting to sit at the same table as his boss’ attorney, Polta pointedly ordered Downey to “get over there.” Downey ended up seated in the front row for the hearing.

Scott’s sister April Scott said that when her brother was killed, he had just completed a three-week course to get his CDL and was supporting his fiancée who was pregnant. Scott’s child will be two years old in July.

On the night Scott was killed, he was downtown celebrating with friends.

“On his way home, he was trying to get on the highway, and he accidentally made a wrong turn. He was just trying to come around and bust a U-turn to get on the highway,” April said.

The family described Scott’s killing as an act of road rage, saying he was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Emotions ran a bit higher outside court when Scott’s family spoke to media.

Scott’s mother, Lana Morris, said that after her experience with the two cases of the men accused of killing her son, she feels that Gardner “needs to be out of office.”

When asked about last week’s noshow, Terrell Herndon, Scott’s cousin, said, “That’s kind of backwards to me … Why wouldn’t you want to get this out of

April stressed that her brother didn’t know his alleged killers. “He’s never been in the streets,” she said. “He’s just a family man. … Good people who do right, they don’t even get justice when bad things happen to them.”

“My son was a great son, and I can shout it to everybody,” Morris added.

An Illinois man named Mark Perry is also facing murder charges stemming from the killing of Scott. He was allowed to await trial free on bond in December 2021. Since then he has racked up more than 20 GPS monitoring violations. n