Russian charged with using US groups to spread propaganda

By ERIC TUCKER and MIKE SCHNEIDER
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department says a Russian operative has been charged with using political groups in the United States to advance pro-Russia propaganda. Aleksandr Viktorovich Ionov is charged in federal court in Florida with conspiring to have U.S. citizens act as illegal agents of the Russian government. It was not immediately clear if he had a lawyer who could speak on his behalf. The Treasury Department also announced sanctions against him Friday accusing him of giving money to organizations that he and Russian intelligence services thought would create a political disturbance in the U.S.