13 Russian nationals, 3 entities indicted in sweeping case
Social media, contacts with campaign and staging rallies
U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller announced an indictment of 13 Russian nationals and three Russian entities, accusing them of interfering in the 2016 presidential election and operating fake social media accounts.
[Click here to read the indictment]
The indictment announced on Friday was the first criminal case to accuse Russians of seeking to influence the outcome of the U.S. election.
The Internet Research Agency, a Russian organization, and the defendants began working in 2014 to interfere in U.S. elections, according to the indictment in Washington. They used false personas and social media while also staging political rallies and communicating with “unwitting individuals” associated with the Trump campaign, it said.
The goal was to disparage Hillary Clinton and to assist the election of Donald Trump.
Mueller’s office said that none of the defendants was in custody.
