Remember Calexit? Some of us thought Russian money was involved, much like Brexit. Today the Feds bring the goods.
Malign foreign elements weren’t just in the White House during the Trump administration. Those of us who are native (sic) Californians could have an opinion but real Californians aren’t crazy enough to waste time supporting an Idea that helps Russia. Pro-tip: divide California first, or read something on bio-regional governance.
Federal authorities charged a Russian man Friday with a years-long malign influence campaign targeting American politics — alleging that he used American groups in Florida, Georgia and California to sow discord and push pro-Russia propaganda.
Aleksandr Viktorovich Ionov, who lives in Moscow, worked for nearly eight years with Russian officials to fund and direct the U.S. groups, according to the indictment filed in Florida. The 24-page indictment does not name the groups but charges that Ionov also advised the campaigns of two unidentified political candidates in Florida.
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Ionov is also accused of directing and controlling an unidentified political group in California that advocated for that state’s secession from the United States. In 2018, according to authorities, Ionov provided financial support for the group’s protest at the state capitol in Sacramento, and tried to persuade the leader of the group to physically enter the governor’s office.
After the protest, Ionov allegedly wrote to an FSB officer, saying the officer had asked for “turmoil,” and adding, “there you go.”
He is also accused of directing the efforts of a group based in Atlanta, paying in 2022 for members of the group to travel to San Francisco to protest at the headquarters of a social media company that had restricted posts supporting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Ionov went so far as to provide designs for signs used at the protest, authorities said.
He is charged with conspiring to have U.S. citizens act as illegal agents of the Russian government.
https://t.co/uT43SfRjo5
The election of President Donald Trump in 2016 had a lot of unhappy Californians considering the highly unlikely possibility of seceding. An organization called Yes California even filed an initiative last year to hold a statewide special election asking voters if they wanted to form their own country – though the leaders ultimately abandoned their signature-gathering effort because of negative attention surrounding the motivations of campaign founder Louis Marinelli, who was living in Russia at the time. Now “Calexit,” as they dubbed the proposal, is back. And so is Marinelli, who moved home to California this week to help relaunch their crusade.
“I enjoyed my life in Russia,” Marinelli said in an interview, “but something I care deeply about is California independence, and I was disappointed it wasn’t picking up the steam I felt it should have.” Yes California plans to hold a Valentine’s Day rally on the north side of the Capitol at noon, urging supporters to read and sign a “declaration of independence” from the United States. Then they will march to the attorney general’s office with signs announcing, “It’s time for a divorce,” to submit their latest ballot initiative, which they hope to qualify for the 2020 election. It would establish an independence referendum vote on May 4, 2021.
Since “Calexit” fizzled, supporters of the idea have pursued two unsuccessful alternatives. Marinelli acknowledged that living in Russia created some “baggage” for the campaign, and he returned to California so he would no longer be a distraction for what he feels is a crucial opportunity to resolve the state’s “irreconcilable differences” with the Trump administration. “California becoming a country is going to open up some doors for Californians,” he said. “It’s really going to be an impetus to change the world.”
www.sacbee.com/...