TAMPA -- The major party presidential candidates, Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, and their surrogates have been scarce in Florida, no longer considered a swing state by most.
But one of the smaller party candidates made an appearance in Tampa to support federal defendants accused of being Russian operatives.
Green Party nominee Jill Stein spoke at a news event held by the Uhuru movement before the beginning of the trial outside Tampa's federal courthouse. She refers to the so-called "Uhuru 3" case as an attack on free speech and the antiwar movement. She compared it to the prosecution of Julian Assange for leaking documents obtained by former Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning. Assange was deported to his home country of Australia earlier this year, after reaching a plea deal with the U.S. Stein denounced the raid on Uhuru leader Omali Yeshitela's St. Louis home as "violent" and the prosecution as draconian.
Federal prosecutors say Yeshitela and his co-defendants spread Russian propaganda on issues including the Ukraine war, and worked with a Russian national to promote two unsuccessful campaigns for St. Petersburg (Florida) city council. Yeshitela insists he already had those opinions and didn't act as a client of Russia. The trial is expected to last a month, with testimony from two dozen or more FBI agents.
The Democratic National Committee's War Room was quick to pounce on Stein's visit to Tampa. Democrats blame Stein for siphoning votes off in 2016 that could have gone to Hillary Clinton. Spokesperson Matt Corridoni issued a statement calling Stein "a useful idiot for Russia" who has been "parroting Kremlin talking points and being propped up by bad actors."
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