Former Air National Guardsman Facing Child Porn Charges May Have Defected to Russian Military

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1. Is Russia's New U.S. Propaganda Star Wanted on Child Porn Charges in Rhode Island?

Source: Daily Beast

Is Russia’s New U.S. Propaganda Star Wanted on Child Porn Charges in Rhode Island?

The “former American soldier” who starred in a new pro-war video praising Russia’s “mission” in Ukraine is reportedly a wanted fugitive.

Allison Quinn
News Editor
Updated Apr. 04, 2024 10:59AM EDT / Published Apr. 04, 2024 9:21AM EDT

Kremlin-controlled media lit up this week with news that an American veteran had signed a contract with the Russian military in a bold act of defiance against U.S. support for Ukraine.

“Wil is staunchly convinced of the need to support Russia and admires the tenacity and heroism of our soldiers,” one report declared of the new “hero.”

He even got the movie-star treatment in a one-and-a-half minute video circulated by popular pro-war Russian Telegram channels. But this new propaganda darling, identified only as “Wil” in the flurry of gushing Russian news reports, may have a controversial background.

According to reports in Russia and back home in Massachusetts, the new American in Ukraine may be none other than Wilmer Puello-Mota, a former city councilor in Holyoke, Massachusetts, who prosecutors say fled the country to evade child porn charges.

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Read more: https://www.thedailybeast.com/wilmer-puello-mota-is-russias-new-us-media-star-wanted-on-child-porn-charges-in-rhode-island