A federal jury in Florida has found members of a pan-Africanist group guilty of conspiring with the Russian government to “sow discord” and “interfere” in U.S. elections. Activists with the African People’s Socialist Party face up to five years in federal prison. They plan to appeal. Prosecutors argued the group’s activities were not protected by the First Amendment since they were done at the direction of a Russian operative named Aleksandr Ionov. The defense argued the government aimed to censor the group after members criticized U.S. foreign policy. Jurors acquitted three of the activists, known as the “Uhuru Three,” on a more serious charge of “acting as agents of a foreign government.” Attorney Mutaqee Akbar spoke after the verdict.

Mutaqee Akbar: “We had 12 people from this community that probably don’t agree with most of the stuff that they heard but understood their right to do it, one, and then, two, their sovereignty in doing so, that they were doing it on their own behalf and for African people. So, I think that sends a message to the government that these political prosecutions probably won’t work.”

Click here to see our interview with one of those on trial, Omali Yeshitela, chair of the African People’s Socialist Party, about the trial of the Uhuru Three.