The Strange Case of the NRA-Linked Russian Charged With Being a Kremlin Agent

Mariia Butina, a self-described Russian gun rights activist with links to the National Rifle Association, has been arrested by the FBI on charges she was acting as a Russian agent in an orchestrated effort to infiltrate American political organizations, including the NRA.

The Justice Department said in court filings that the 29-year-old woman worked to establish “back channel” lines of communication with U.S.