TROLLS

U.S. Indicts 13 Russian Nationals for Election Meddling, Says They Communicated With Trump Campaign

The counts include conspiracy to defraud U.S., wire and bank fraud conspiracies, and aggravated ID theft.

Special counsel Robert Mueller on Friday indicted 13 Russian nationals and three Russian companies for interfering in the 2016 U.S. election. The lead defendant is the “Internet Research Agency,” known as Russia’s “troll farm.” They are charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud, and aggravated identity theft. “Some Defendants, posing as US persons and without revealing their Russian association, communicated with unwitting individuals associated with the Trump Campaign,” the criminal complaint claims. The document also names specific fake groups or events created by the Russian nationals, like “United Muslims of America,” “Being Patriotic,” “Florida Goes Trump!,” which were previously revealed as trolls by The Daily Beast.