A 29-year-old Russian gun activist has been charged with conspiracy to act as an agent of the Russian government with US prosecutors saying she gathered intelligence on US officials and political organisations while living in Washington.
Maria Butina's arrest on Monday came hours after US President Donald Trump met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki and days after 12 other Russians were indicted for directing a hacking effort ahead of the 2016 US election.
It's also alleged Butina, a student at American University and founder of the Russian pro-gun rights group Right to Bear Arms, also worked to establish back channel lines of communication for the Kremlin.
Special Counsel Robert Mueller didn't file the charge against Butina but court papers show her activities revolved around US politics during the 2016 campaign and included efforts to use contacts with the National Rifle Association to develop relationships with politicians and gather intelligence for Russia.
Court papers also reveal that an unnamed American who worked with Butina claimed to have been involved in setting up a "private line of communication" ahead of the 2016 election between the Kremlin and "key" officials in an American political party through the NRA.
The court papers do not name the political party mentioned in the October 2016 message, but they contain details that appear to refer to the Republican Party. The documents don't say whether the back channel was ever established.
The NRA, which has previously been connected to Butina in public reporting and information released by members of Congress, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Butina, a Russian national who has been living in the US, was charged with conspiracy to act as an unregistered agent of the Russian government. A federal judge in Washington ordered her jailed until a hearing set for Wednesday, according to a statement from the Justice Department and Jessie Liu, the US Attorney for the District of Columbia.
In a statement, Butina's lawyer , Robert Driscoll, called the allegations "overblown" and said prosecutors had criminalised mundane networking opportunities.
Driscoll said Butina was not an agent of the Russian Federation but was instead in the U.S. on a student visa, graduating from American University with a master's degree in international relations.
