From ABC News · ABC News · · 1m 20s
DOJ charges Russian spies in murder plots
An unsealed New York indictment accuses Russian intelligence operatives of funding terror and plotting killings, including one on US soil.
In brief
An unsealed New York indictment accuses Russian intelligence operatives of funding terror and plotting killings, including one on US soil. Federal prosecutors say a Russian intelligence-linked group financed terrorism and planned murders worldwide, with one target believed to be near Washington, D.C. Originally…
Charges land in New York
Attorney General Todd Blanche said Tuesday that an indictment was unsealed in the Southern District of New York against multiple Russian citizens.
Accused of spy ties
Blanche said the defendants worked for Russia's intelligence community, putting a state apparatus at the center of the case rather than a freelance crew.
Two alleged crimes
The indictment covers financing terrorism and conspiring to carry out murder plots in different parts of the world.
A plot near Washington
Prosecutors allege the group tried to kill a Russian dissident they believed was living in the Washington, D.C. area.
Dissidents as targets
The claim points at a pattern critics have long described: Russians who speak out abroad are hunted far from home, including inside the United States.
Still unfolding
ABC News flagged this as a developing story, so names, counts, and the number of alleged targets may change as court documents are read.
The key point
Federal prosecutors say a Russian intelligence-linked group financed terrorism and planned murders worldwide, with one target believed to be near Washington, D.C.
