The FBI is targeting US citizens in connection with Russian media in an attempt to allegedly combat "Kremlin influence" ahead of the upcoming presidential elections in November, sources told The New York Times.

The security agency conducted raids on the homes of former UN weapons inspector and RT contributor Scott Ritter, and US-Soviet-born policy analyst, and author Dmitri K. Simes who hosts a local Russian television show, as part of a "broad criminal investigation" to combat "Kremlin influence operations," the New York Times reported Wednesday, citing anonymous US officials. 

The government aims to organize more raids and issue criminal charges, the sources added, despite no charges being brought against Ritter and Simes.

The New York Times reported that law enforcement officials are targeting “individuals intentionally spreading disinformation from Moscow,” highlighting that the probe could “bump up against the First Amendment’s protection of rights to free speech.”

Ritter and Simes critique US official policies

Ritter and Simes are both devout critics of US foreign policy under President Joe Biden's administration and blame the US administration for falsely villainizing Russia and increasing the risk of a nuclear war.

Due to their political beliefs and criticism of the government, the FBI has suspected the US citizens of potentially violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), which requires transparency from people in the US representing foreign governments, as well as sanctions on Russia.

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“The US government works overtime to stigmatize any journalism possessing connectivity with Russia,” Ritter said in a recent opinion article on RT this week. He detailed the main reason he contributes to Russian media is due to US media's compliance with US foreign policy.

“It clearly is an attempt to intimidate, not only somebody from Russia, but just anyone who goes against official policies and particularly against the deep state,” Simes told Sputnik last week after his family home in Virginia was raided.

FBI raids home of analyst Dimitri Simes, Russia dubs it 'witch-hunt'

FBI agents raided on August 13 the Virginia home of Dimitri Simes, who advised Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and currently hosts a program on Russia’s Channel One.

The raid, initially reported by Rappahannock News, had cited the FBI as their source of information.

Simes, who was abroad at the time, stated he had not been notified about the search in advance and was unaware of any ongoing investigation involving him.

Simes' name has been mentioned over 100 times in the 2019 Mueller report on alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election.
 
"I’m puzzled and concerned," he said, before adding, "I have not seen a warrant. I was not contacted by any law enforcement or anyone else whatsoever."

More significantly, Simes told Sputnik, "My suspicion is that instead of trying to get me to come to the United States and to interrogate me or even to arrest me, their real purpose is to make sure that I would not come back."

On his part, Simes' son Dimitri Simes Jr. told Sputnik that his father has not been to the US since 2022.

In a tweet on X, Jr. wrote: "The Biden regime is terrified of being called out over Ukraine and Israel," adding, "Elements of Biden regime are trying to disrupt any possibility for de-escalation with Russia and plunge America into World War III."