Thread by @H_Lev

.@markfollman and I uncovered evidence that Russian agent Maria Butina worked to arm violent anti-American groups abroad—all while she was entering into the NRA’s fold. bit.ly/2GuXvma

@markfollman Much of this happened in spring 2014, weeks after Putin annexed Crimea. Butina travelled there to lend a hand to the newly Russian citizenry, including by teaching violent militants how to legally acquire guns. She gave a whole press conference about it: bit.ly/2SiPoQG

@markfollman This press conference took place in a building this militia had violently seized just weeks prior, kicking out a group of investigative journalists for being too pro-American and installing their own pro-Russian news outlet in their place.
bit.ly/2SgeNe4

@markfollman A month after this Crimea visit, Butina travelled to the NRA convention in Indiana and got the VIP treatment from NRA executives. The NRA says it had no idea about Butina’s advocacy for pro-Russian, anti-American interests.
bit.ly/2GuXvma

@markfollman It’s telling that the NRA would embrace a well-connected Russian national and miss this publicly-available piece of her background, especially at that moment in 2014—quite literally weeks after annexation, when US-Russia relations had begun to implode. bit.ly/2GuXvma