Statement by The Socialist Action Committee, April 20, 2023
McCarthy-era witchhunt style, African People’s Socialist Party attacked by the US government on trumped up “conspiracy” charges.
On Tuesday, April 18, 2023, a federal grand jury in Tampa, Florida, levied charges of “conspiring to covertly sow discord in U.S. society, spread Russian propaganda and interfere illegally in U.S. elections.” Four members of the African People’s Socialist Party (APSP), including its Chairman, Omali Yeshiteli, were named in the spurious indictment along with three Russian nationals.
No evidence of any conspiracy, illegal propagandizing, or interference in US elections has been presented. The APSP is being persecuted for its political ideas, including its opposition to systemic US racism and the US imperialist-instigated war in Ukraine. These have been repeatedly expressed in the APSP’s election campaigns and in its public communications.
Socialist Action condemns these spurious attacks on the right to free speech and the right to oppose the policies of the racist and imperialist US government. We express our solidarity with the right of the APSP to freely express its ideas and organize to win supporters to them.
Reminiscent of the McCarthy-era witchhunt frame-up trials and persecution of groups that oppose US policies around the world, the Biden administration’s objective is to criminalize dissent and otherwise ban criticism of its increasingly unpopular foreign and domestic polices.
A united front defense of the APSP’s fundamental civil liberties and democratic rights is the order of the day.
US Hands off the African People’s Socialist Party!
Drop the indictment now!