According to special counsel Robert Mueller Russian operatives pretending to be everyday Americans organized, and even helped fund, political rallies during the 2016 presidential election.
Starting in April 2016 and running all the way through the election, Russian operatives produced, purchased and posted advertisements on U.S. social media platforms, among other sites. To pay for these advertisements, these operatives established various Russian bank accounts and credit cards, often created in the names of fake U.S. personas created by the Internet Research Agency, a cyber outfit that according to U.S. officials, was created to interfere with foreign elections and political processes.
Operatives also used PayPal, the online payment transfer system to pay for these political advertisements
Using these political advertisements, the operatives then began to organize and coordinate political rallies in the United States. To conceal the fact that they were foreigners, they pretended to be located in the States, but said they were unable to meet or participate in the rallies in person.
They promoted the events through public posts on fictitious social media accounts, and also contacted administrators of large social media groups focused on U.S. politics and requested their help in promoting and advertising the rallies as well. They even offered to cover rally expenses for some of the rallies’ organizers and their attendees.
Operatives sent individualized messages to real Americans requesting that they participate and help organize “Florida Goes Trump” rallies all over the state of Florida, for example. In one case, they asked an U.S. person to build a cage on a flatbed truck and another to a wear a costume portraying Clinton in a prison uniform. The Russian operatives paid these individuals to carry out the requests.
Often times the operatives would organize and coordinate competing rallies and continued organizing them even after Election Day 2016. The operatives organized a rally designed to “show your support for President-Elect Donald Trump” to be held on November 12, 2016, in New York. At the same time, they called for a protest to be held also in New York, also on November 12, called “Trump is NOT my President.”
Special counsel Robert Mueller has been investigating the Russia scandal since May of last year. So far, he has indicted four former members of the Trump campaign, an attorney connected with some of them, and sixteen Russian individuals and entities for interfering with the 2016 presidential election.