11th Circuit upholds convictions of Black activists charged in Russian propaganda conspiracy

The court determined a law targeting unregistered foreign agents did not violate the First Amendment.(CN) — An 11th Circuit panel upheld Wednesday the convictions of four activists who conspired to act as unregistered Russian agents.Chief U.S. Circuit Judge William Pryor, a George W. Bush appointee, wrote in a unanimous opinion that the law used to prosecute the activists was a content-neutral burden on speech that served the government’s national security interest.The panel further ruled there was sufficient evidence to convict the founder of the African People’s Socialist Party, Omali Yeshitela, as well as its members, Penny Hess and Jesse Nevel, and Augustus Romain Jr., the leader of a Georgia-based spinoff organization called Black Hammer.“The defendants concede that they entered a voluntary ‘agreement’ with each other and the Russians,” Pryor wrote. “Indeed, Yeshitela explained during party meetings that the ‘party developed a relationship with forces in Russia’ and entered the relationship as ‘allies.’”Prosecutors say the defendants carried out actions in the U.S. between 2015 and 2022 on behalf of the Russian government and received money and support from Aleksandr Ionov, the president of the Moscow-based group Anti-Globalization Movement of Russia. Ionov, an asset of Russia’s Federal Security Service, used the defendants’ organizations to promote Russian views on politics and oppose U.S. policy in the Ukraine war.At Ionov’s request, the APSP — which focuses on Black empowerment and the effort to obtain reparations for slavery — drafted a 2015 petition to the United Nations accusing the U.S. of committing genocide against African people. The government has said the defendants acted under Russian direction and received about $7,000 to stage protests in four cities in 2016 to promote the petition.The defendants continued undertaking actions at Ionov’s direction over the next six years, including by carrying out protests at CNN and the Georgia State Capitol in support of Russia.The activists’ attorneys argued at a July hearing that their clients’ activities constituted political speech protected by the First Amendment, but the appeals court disagreed.While the law used to prosecute the defendants burdens speech, it does so on a content-neutral basis, meaning the justification for the regulation is unrelated to suppression of free expression and does not target speech based on its content, Pryor writes.Further, the law did not substantially burden speech because the defendants could have lawfully engaged in the activities if they had informed the attorney general that they were acting as Russian agents.U.S. Circuit Judges Andrew Brasher, a Donald Trump appointee, and Jill Pryor, a Barack Obama appointee, joined the opinion.Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads