A radio station that broadcasts Russia-funded programs across the airwaves of Washington D.C. has been forced by a federal judge to register as a foreign agent.
U.S. District Judge Robin Rosenburg issued a ruling in favor of the Justice Department on Tuesday, finding that RM Broadcasting must register with the U.S. government as a foreign agent. The station rebroadcasts Sputnik International from Moscow.
In June 2018, the government informed RM Broadcasting that it needed to register as a foreign agent under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, a law that was passed in 1938 to fight against Nazi propaganda.
The company’s owner, Arnold Ferolito, who is American, filed suit against the Justice Department contending that he was only buying and reselling airtime to Rossiya Segodnya, the Russian government news agency that owns Sputnik. He claimed that it was merely a business transaction and that RM Broadcasting and Rossiya Segodnya were not coordinating.
Judge Rosenburg disagreed and ruled in favor of the Justice Department. Sputnik already registered as a foreign agent under FARA in November 2017. Sputnik has been described as Russian propaganda by a number of individuals and entities.
