Office of Public Affairs | U.S. Citizens Found Guilty of Conspiring to Act as Unlawful Agents of the Russian Government

A jury today convicted Omali Yeshitela, 82, Penny Hess, 78, Jesse Nevel, 34, all of St. Louis, and Augustus C. Romain Jr., 38, of Atlanta, of conspiracy to act as agents of a foreign government. The defendants were charged in a superseding indictment on April 13, 2023.

According to the evidence presented at trial, from at least May 2015 through July 2022, Yeshitela, Hess, and Nevel agreed to act on behalf of the Russian government in the United States. Aleksandr Viktorovich Ionov, a Moscow resident, was the founder and chairman of the Anti-Globalization Movement of Russia (AGMR), an organization based in Moscow, Russia, and funded by the Russian government. Omali Yeshitela, Penny Hess, and Jesse Nevel were leaders of the African Peoples’ Socialist Party (APSP) or its components. Augustus C. Romain was a high-level leader of the APSP who, in November 2018, left and formed a Georgia-based group called the Black Hammer. Ionov’s influence efforts were directed and supervised by Moscow-based Federal Security Service (FSB) agents, including indicted defendants Aleksey Borisovich Sukhodolov and Yegor Sergeyevich Popov.

In May 2015, Ionov invited Yeshitela to Russia for an all-expenses-paid trip to discuss future cooperation. Prior to this trip, Hess forwarded a request to Ionov to ensure that Yeshitela could meet with an official representative of the Russian government. According to subsequent electronic communications, which were shared with Hess, Nevel, and Romain, Yeshitela explained that it was clear that Ionov was an instrument of the Russian government. In these same communications, Yeshitela further explained that Ionov represented a method by which the Russian government engages the United States and Europe in a serious struggle by using forces within the United States to[o]At a subsequent meeting, at which Hess and Nevel were present, Yeshitela explained that Ionov would only provide resources for actions that would support Russia's efforts to undermine[e] the united states

Under Ionov’s direction, the defendants undertook several actions in the United States. For example, in August 2015, Ionov asked Yeshitela, Hess, and Nevel to draft and publish a petition to the United Nations accusing the United States of actively committing genocide against African peoples. When Hess resisted, Ionov insisted that the APSP publish the petition because Ionov and his Russian supporters were not exactly black enough to demand it for us. Hess then drafted and published the requested petition, which Ionov promoted in Russian media.

In January 2016, Ionov provided a $12,000 letter of guarantee to fund a four-city tour to promote the genocide petition that the APSP had published under his leadership. Yeshitela and Hess supervised the tour and reported information to Ionov. After the tour, Yeshitela explained at an APSP meeting that the APSP had developed a relationship with forces in Russia that are involved in their own struggle against the United States.

In 2017 and again in 2019, Ionov attempted to influence local elections in St. Petersburg, Florida, on behalf of the FSB, although there is no evidence that he succeeded. For example, in July 2017, Ionov contacted Nevel, a candidate for mayor of St. Petersburg, to offer his support, including by funding his campaign. In 2019, Ionov regularly reported to the FSB about a local election in St. Petersburg, designating one candidate as the candidate we are monitoring. And, in January 2020, FSB agent Popov told Ionov that the 2020 U.S. presidential election was the FSB’s main topic of discussion this year.

In April 2020, Ionov invited Nevel and Yeshitela to speak at a conference aimed at promoting the right to self-determination of Russia-backed secessionist movements in eastern Ukraine. Shortly thereafter, Yeshitela provided a videotaped statement in support of the Russia-backed secessionist group. Ionov reported these activities to the FSB.

In late February 2022, after Russia invaded Ukraine, Ionov complained to FSB officer Sukhodolov about Russia's failure in the information warfare surrounding the invasion. Sukhodolov ordered Ionov to join the information warfare. Ionov then asked Yeshitela and Romain to participate in protests at a social media company's headquarters in California to protest the suppression of pro-Russian viewpoints. Ionov paid for Romain and three other Black Hammer members to travel to California to lead the protest, and Yeshitela asked APSP members located in California to lead a similar protest a few days later. After the Black Hammer protest, Romain texted Ionov: This is awesome! This was fun! Who are we going to attack next? With more time, I can draw a bigger crowd.

In May 2022, Romain Ionov protested in front of a media outlet in Atlanta, Georgia, to celebrate Russia's Victory Day. In June 2022, Romain Ionov protested in front of the Georgia state capital in support of Russia. At the protest, Romain stated that he was not ashamed to say that the Black Hammer party has ties to the Kremlin, in reference to Ionov.

The defendants each face a maximum sentence of five years in prison. A date for sentencing has not yet been set.

Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department's National Security Division and Executive Assistant Director Robert Wells of the FBI's National Security Branch made the announcement.

The FBI is investigating the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Daniel J. Marcet and Risha Asokan for the Middle District of Florida and Assistant U.S. Attorney Menno Goedman of the National Security Division's Counterintelligence and Export Controls Section are prosecuting the case.

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