Uhuru 3 will go on trial in Tampa on Tuesday: They say charges are "absolutely absurd"

Omali Yeshitela, Uhuru — Omali Yeshitela. Screen grab during WMNF interview, Aug. 27, 2024.

Two years ago the FBI raided the Uhuru House in St. Petersburg.

Then last year three members of the African People’s Socialist Party, or the Uhurus, were charged with covertly spreading Russian propaganda and illegally interfering in U.S. elections to sow discord in U.S. society.

We spoke to two of the defendants known as the Uhuru 3 who will go on trial next Tuesday, Omali Yeshitela and Jesse Nevel.

“I just want to say that all of the charges that they made against us are just absolutely absurd. They would try to compress 60 years of history, of our history. It’s been consistent. It’s been a part of your history at WMNF, the work that I’ve been doing, and it’s always been consistent. There’s nothing that different now than we’re doing than what we did then. And in terms of the Russian government paying us to do anything, We’ve never taken a penny from the Russian government. We had a relationship with a non-governmental organization in Russia, just as we’ve had relationships with non-governmental organizations in Spain and other places,” Yeshitela told WMNF.

Listen to the full show here:

Their supporters will march and rally on Saturday in St. Petersburg. The “Hands Off Uhuru” march will begin at 11:00 a.m. at the Uhuru House, 1245 18th Avenue South St. Petersburg, FL 33705.

The National Lawyers Guild – Chicago Chapter filed a 25-page amicus curiae brief in support of the three defendants regarding the First Amendment and “historical context regarding suppressed Black political expression.” … “Defendants’ alleged misconduct is inextricably intertwined with their political views. … governmental suppression of Black voices and political expression in the United States.”

In 2022 the FBI also charged a Russian national Aleksandr Ionov for secretly funding Black political groups and directing them to “publish pro-Russian propaganda”