by webdev@democracynow.org (Democracy Now!) from Democracy Now! on (#6QQ3H)
A federal jury in Florida has found members of the pan-Africanist group African People's Socialist Party guilty of conspiring with the Russian government to sow discord" and interfere" in U.S. elections. They face up to five years in federal prison. In a major victory for the activists, however, the jury acquitted them of the more serious charge of acting as foreign agents. The trial of the Uhuru Three is proving to be one of the most important First Amendment cases thus far in the 21st century," says attorney Jenipher Jones, who is on the legal support committee for defendants. It remains clear that when covert government repression tactics fail against activists, the government will use the overt means of charges and cages against folks that they simply disagree with."