Because of her illegal agent activity, the Russian Maria Butina was sentenced to 18 months in the US. The 30-year-old pleaded guilty to infiltrating conservative US circles as an agent in her home country. The sentence imposed on them by a Washington court was in line with the prosecutor's request.
The defendant had admitted to having operated from 2015 to her arrest in July 2017 under the direction of a Moscow government representative in the United States. This includes the period of the US presidential campaign in 2016. Butina, who was active as a weapons rights activist, is said to have tried, among other things, to infiltrate the US arms lobby National Rifle Association (NRA). The NRA is close to the Republicans of US President Donald Trump.
The case against Butina does not go back to the Russia investigations of Special Investigator Robert Mueller. Mueller had examined possible agreements between representatives of the Trump camp and Russia in the 2016 election campaign. US intelligence agencies accuse Russia of trying to influence the then US elections.
Butina was enrolled on a student visa in Washington. The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) considered the study a camouflage of agent activity. After her arrest, Butina had been remanded for absconding. After the arrest of her remaining prison Butina is reportedly deported to Russia. The government in Moscow demanded their release.