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.