Report: Russians Also Targeting BLM Protests

A new report indicates that Russian operatives tried to create their own series of protests following the killing of Philando Castile in Minnesota. A front organization, named "Don't Shoot Us" and claiming affiliations with the Green Party of Minnesota and Black Lives Matter, tried to draw protesters away from a scheduled march on the Governor's office in St. Paul.

In a sense, this isn't surprising. Russia has clearly tipped its hand as to its strategy -- sowing chaos by trying to intentionally blur political narratives. The infamous "Boston Antifa" account, which presented a version of antifa that seemed perfectly calculated to prove right-wing talking points until it accidentally publicly posted that it was tweeting from Vladivostok, Russia, is a great example.

Fortunately, BLM activists in Minnesota are less credulous than, say, Texas conservatives, and spotted that something was fishy with the group, and rapidly uncovered that it was a sham operation (though I don't think they realized it was Russian in origin). Still, this is worth noting as part of the ongoing efforts by Russian actors to sabotage American political discourse -- it is not isolated, and it is not an idle threat.