Two Russian nationals are accused of targeting Michigan and other swing states in the latest indictment as part of special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into foreign meddling of the 2016 presidential election.
According to the indictment released Friday, Russians Anna Vladislavovna Bogacheva and Aleksandra Yuryevna Krylova traveled throughout the U.S. in June 2014 “to gather intelligence,” making stops in “purple states” like Michigan, as well as Nevada, California, New Mexico, Colorado, Illinois, Louisiana, Texas, and New York.
In total, 13 Russian nationals and three Russian entities including an internet “troll farm” called the Internet Research Agency are charged in the indictment. Charges include conspiracy, wire fraud, bank fraud, and identity theft in an attempt “to sow discord in the U.S. political system, including the 2016 U.S. presidential election,” with the Russians alleged to have posed “as U.S. grassroots entities and U.S. persons, and without revealing their Russian identities” by creating social media accounts, purchasing advertisements on Facebook, and staging political rallies.
According to the indictment document, “They engaged in operations primarily intended to communicated derogatory information about Hillary Clinton, to denigrate other candidates such as Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, and to support Bernie Sanders and then-candidate Donald Trump.”…