A leading California secession advocate got funding and direction from Russian intelligence agents, US government alleges
Insider Charles R. Davis Aug 2, 2022
https://www.businessinsider.com/california-secession-movement-was-backed-by-russia-us-alleges-2022-7• Russia "exercised direction or control" over the California secession movement, a federal indictment says.
• A Russian national with ties to the FSB is accused of providing funds and advice to the group.
• The group's founder has not been charged with a crime and denies wrongdoing.
Marinelli, a right-wing activist who previously campaigned against LGBTQ rights, framed California nationhood in terms of competing values — and, at the time, said he'd had a change of heart on issues such as gay rights (his Twitter timeline, today, has reverted to largely conservative causes). In a country led by President Donald Trump, this liberal bastion, he said, should not have to answer to reactionaries in Washington, DC.
It was a cause he cared so much about that he left his home in Yekaterinburg, some 1,000 miles outside Moscow, to fight for it.
"I enjoyed my life in Russia," Marinelli told The Sacramento Bee, "but something I care deeply about is California independence."
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