Russian agent Maria Butina sentenced to 18 months

Maria Butina, the only Russian arrested and convicted in the three-year investigation of Moscow's interference in US politics, was sentenced to 18 months in prison in Washington on Friday. The leader of a small Russian gun rights group, Butina used her ties to the NRA firearms lobby to build a network of powerful Republican contacts.

She had admitted one count of conspiracy to act as an agent of a foreign government without registering. Prosecutors said that although she worked openly and was not tied to any Russian intelligence agency, she was a threat to the United States.