THREAD: Meet Maria Butina, the lifetime NRA member and Russian national charged with being a spy. 
Butina is a Russian gun rights activist with close ties to Russian politicians, who for years has cultivated close relationships with American Republican operatives and the NRA.
She's attended multiple NRA conventions with Putin ally and lifetime NRA member, Alexander Torshin. motherjones.com/politics/2018/…
Butina also befriended GOP operative and top NRA fundraiser Paul Erickson. The two created a mysterious LLC in South Dakota and attended Trump’s inauguration together. mcclatchydc.com/news/nation-wo…
In 2013, Butina’s gun rights group, the Right to Bear Arms, hosted past NRA president David Keene at their annual convention in Moscow. Days later, now-NSA John Bolton, a longtime friend of Keene, recorded a video for the group npr.org/2018/03/22/595…
Then, in 2015, Butina’s gun rights group hosted an NRA delegation in Moscow, which included former NRA president David Keene and Pete Brownell, who would soon become NRA president. thedailybeast.com/top-trump-ally…
During the 2015 trip, the NRA delegation met with the then-sanctioned Russian Deputy Prime Minister and visited a Russian gun manufacturer, whose weapons have been cited by the U.S. military as a threat to American troops. motherjones.com/politics/2018/…
Following the 2016 election, Butina bragged to friends that she had acted as a go-between for the Kremlin and the Trump campaign. thedailybeast.com/the-kremlin-an…
Then yesterday, Butina was charged with Conspiracy to Act as an Agent of the Russian Federation Within the U.S. for allegedly “infiltrating organizations having influence in American politics” to advance Russia’s interests. washingtonpost.com/local/public-s…
