In St. Petersburg, Uhuru members deny federal charges in Russian-influence case

 By Mitch Perry

For the first time since a federal grand jury indicted members of the St. Petersburg-based Black nationalist group known as the Uhuru Movement last month on allegations that they worked on a Russian political-influence campaign in the U.S., three members of the organization have vehemently denied the charges.

“My crime is my absolutely belief in free speech,” said Omali Yeshitela, 81, who founded the African People’s Socialist Party in 1972 and the International People’s Democratic Uhuru Movement in 1991.  He didn’t comment much beyond the direct charges on advice of his attorney, but he has previously claimed that charges that he worked for or took money from the Russian government are completely false.

The U.S. v. ‘Uhuru Three’ federal trial slated to begin next week in Tampa

By Mitch Perry

If found guilty, the three defendants could face up to 15 years in prison

Next week in a federal courtroom in Tampa, the U.S. government will open its case against three members of a St. Petersburg Black nationalist group, contending they acted as illegal agents of the Russian government without giving notice to the attorney general.

Omali Yeshitela is the longtime chairman of the African People’s Socialist Party, also known as the International People’s Democratic Uhuru Movement, which has been based in St. Petersburg since 1972 (with chapters in St. Louis and Oakland).

Along with two members of the party’s “Solidarity Front,” Penny Hess and Jesse Nevel, “the Uhuru three,” as they are calling themselves, were indicted in April 2023 along with one other U.S. citizen and three Russian nationals for allegedly working on behalf of the Russian government and in conjunction with the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) to conduct a multi-year foreign “malign influence campaign” in the U.S.

Western Media Fall in Lockstep for Neo-Nazi Publicity Stunt in Ukraine

By JOHN MCEVOY

When the corporate media push for war,  one of their main weapons is  propaganda by omission. In the case of the recent crisis in  Ukraine, Western journalists have  omitted key context about the  expansion  of NATO since the end of the  Cold War, as well as US support for the  Maidan coup in 2014  (FAIR.org, 1/28/22).