February 16
On This Day In 2018
Special Counsel Robert Mueller issued federal indictments against 13 Russian citizens and 3 Russian companies for conspiring to interfere “with the U.S. political and electoral processes, including the presidential election of 2016.”
OTDI 2018, Mueller’s team alleged that the Russians had chosen a variety of methods to sway the election towards Donald Trump, including buying ads on social media, staging fake rallies, hiring Americans to publicly belittle Hillary Clinton, and attempting to suppress minority turnout.
A key operator in the scheme was the notorious “Internet Research Agency,” a “troll farm” founded by Yevgeny Prigozhin, to spread misinformation throughout the “western world.”
Since the Russians are beyond the reach of U.S. law enforcement, the indicted individuals remain at large today.
(Prigozhin, though, remains dead: The Russian mercenary and leader of the Wagner Group was killed in a suspicious plane crash last August.)
Sources/Links for further reading
Common Dreams reported on the indictment
The Verge also has details
Mueller indicts Russians for tipping election for Trump