(Republican Insider) – A Russian official has been caught and detained attempting to enter the US at the US-Mexico border, according to reports.
The news was first broke Thursday by the Russian state media outlet RIA Novosti, which cited an unspecified law enforcement as its source.
According to the anonymous source, it was known that Russian lawmaker Viktor Kamenshchikov had been arrested at the border but “it is not yet known for what exactly, presumably for an illegal border crossing.”
Kamenshchikov was a member of the Communist Party of Russia and had served as a deputy of the Vladivostok City Duma (or legislative body) in the Primorsky region of the Russian Far East.
However, Kamenshchikov has been publicly vocal about his condemnation of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and has thus quit the party.
“I do not agree with the position of the party leadership” in supporting the “military operations in Ukraine and the use of Russian troops on the territory of a neighbouring state,” Kamenshchikov said while leaving the Communist Party, according to the U.K.’s Mirror.
“I am against war in principle,” he added.
While Kamenshchikov is still listed in the Vladivostok City Duma as a deputy, he has not attended any meetings since the end of February, when the war began.
It was reported that on April 14, Kamenshchikov uploaded photographs on his social media accounts and wrote that he had arrived in Istanbul. His last social media post was on April 16.
Виктора Каменщикова задержали за попытку нелегально пересечь границу, сообщил источник «РИА Новости». Собеседник PrimaMedia уточнил, что в США у него ребенок. Депутат отказался поддержать спецоперациюhttps://t.co/JyUJVvXHGs pic.twitter.com/Jusk8SonEI
— РБК (@ru_rbc) May 19, 2022
“I have information that he was detained at the border of Mexico and the United States … I had some information that he left through Georgia or Turkey. He did not tell anyone, neither my friends nor me,” Vladimir Bespalov, a deputy at the Legislative Assembly of Primorsky, told RIA Novosti.
“He … he just cut off all ends with the party organization, as a deputy of the Duma — since February,” Bespalov said.
“He left everything and disappeared. I think that he acted purposefully.”
US Customs and Border Patrol have not responded to requests seeking confirmation of Kamenshchikov’s arrest.
According to RIA Novosti, Kamenshchikov has a child who is a US citizen by birthright.
He very well could remain in the US under asylum laws if he cites fear of persecution for “political opinion” should he be sent back to Russia. Which is funny because Americans are not free from persecution for political opinion in the US, just ask those still sitting in jail because they were at the Capitol on Jan. 6.
Of course, Russia has cracked down on domestic dissent since the start of the war and has even expanded its laws to punish critics of the Russian military. If one is accused of spreading so-called “disinformation” about the war, they could be sent to prison for up to 15 years.
That hasn’t stopped Russians from speaking out. The government has arrested more than 15,000 people for protesting the war in cities throughout the country, according to Politico.
There’s no word on whether or not Kamenshchikov has or will file for asylum or if the US would grant it to him. Either way, he’s an illegal alien now and that gives him special rights and privileges that even American citizens don’t get under the Biden regime.
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I would not be surprised if his arrest is for protective custody. He will certainly need it considering Putin has had other dissenters assassinated in foreign countries.
Agree. Putin finds any means he can to control his people. Poison is his go to method.