DISINFO: The US persecutes people for non-conformity and political views
SUMMARY
In the US, people are persecuted for their non-conformity, political views, beliefs, and even for trying to defend what seems like the obvious truth, as charges against Russian-US political scientist and TV presenter Dimitri Simes and his wife show.
RESPONSE
Disinformation claim seeking to undermine trust in liberal democracies broadly, and particularly in the US court system.
Russian citizen Dimitri Simes and his wife Anastasia were charged by US Department of Justice on 04 September 2024 not because of their political views but for alleged violation of sanctions and money laundering, according to two different indictments (see here and here).
Simes had long been seen as a Russian agent of influence in the US and featured prominently in the report by US Special Counsel Robert Mueller about Russian interference in the 2016 election, where he was mentioned dozens of times.
However, he was not charged at the time with any crime related to the investigation, which “did not identify evidence that the [Trump] Campaign passed or received any messages to or from the Russian government through […] Simes”, according to the Mueller report. This proves that allegations about these charges being politically motivated are baseless, as Simes and his wife were not charged until they allegedly committed actual crimes under US legislation.
See other examples of similar disinformation narratives, such as claims that in America today, freedom of speech can only be exercised in narrow and controlled channels, that the US censor people on the internet while Russia doesn't, that RT and Sputnik were shut down because they told the Western audiences the truth, or that Washington persecutes Capitol protesters on terrorism charges for having different political ideas.