STR/AFP/Getty Images(NEW YORK) — Maria Butina, the Russian national accused of conspiring to act as an agent of a foreign government, was sentenced to 18 months of incarceration and deportation to Russia “promptly upon the completion of her sentence.”
“If I had known to register as a foreign agent, I would have done so without delay,” Butina told Judge Tanya Chutkan prior to her sentencing, in the first time she has spoken in front of the court at length. “I am deeply sorry and wish to be shown mercy.”
Butina, a 30-year-old Russian gun rights activist, was arrested last July in Washington, D.C., on charges of conspiracy and failure to register as a foreign agent. Although she originally maintained innocence, she signed a plea agreement in December 2018 to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to act as an agent of a foreign official.
While U.S. District Judge Chutkan acknowledged Butina’s “absolute sincerity and remorse” Friday, she said Butina was “seeking to collect information about individuals and organizations that could be helpful to the Russia government.”
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