Russia sentences Navalny’s brother to 2 months of house arrest Gun-toting WV man with 20 rounds of ammo arrested near the Capitol building
MOSCOW — The brother of Russian dissident Alexei Navalny was sentenced to two months of house arrest on Friday, two days before opponents of President Vladimir Putin stage fresh mass protests.
Oleg Navalny is not allowed to move freely or use the telephone or internet until March 23, a Moscow court ruled.
The punishment was imposed in connection with violations of coronavirus hygiene rules during last weekend’s unsanctioned mass protests, which Oleg Navalny is said to have helped organize.
The previous day, another court had upheld Alexei Navalny’s 30-day prison sentence.
The opposition leader was arrested at the airport just two weeks ago, immediately after his return to Russia, for allegedly violating probation reporting requirements in an earlier criminal case while recovering in Germany from a poison attack that almost killed him.
Next Tuesday, a court is expected decide whether an old suspended sentence should be changed to actual imprisonment. He faces many years in prison.
Since the huge nationwide protests last weekend, authorities have massively stepped up pressure against Navalny’s team. On Wednesday, security forces searched their offices and private residences. Several people have been detained.
Protests are again planned for this Sunday in some 80 Russian cities.
A West Virginia senior citizen with a gun and a list of congressional members in his car was arrested as he marched alone down a Washington street near the U.S. Capitol, authorities said Thursday.
Dennis Westover, 71, of
South Charleston, told police he was convinced of election fraud in the November victory of President Joe Biden when he made the six-hour, 365-mile drive to the nation’s capital.
He was arrested Wednesday afternoon just a few hundred feet from an entrance to the Rayburn House Office building on charges of unlawful possession of a firearm and possession of unregistered ammunition — 20 rounds of 9 mm bullets along with a 9 mm Sig Sauer handgun.
Westover was walking and shouting, “I wanted to see the fence that was around my Capitol” before police took him into custody, according to the police. And he told police “the process I am engaged in is righteous, justice and truth,” according to law enforcement documents.
Officers described the suspect as cooperative during his arrest and subsequent interview. He was released Thursday after pleading not guilty in D.C. Superior Court.
When asked if there was a gun in the vehicle, Westover acknowledged there was a handgun in the center console, police said. The suspect was arrested and transported to D.C. police headquarters for processing.
Westover apparently attended the Jan. 6 Donald Trump rally-turned-riot in Washington — with photos posted on his fiancee’s Facebook page.