MyTurtleSwimsUpsideDown , 9 hours ago (edited 41 minutes ago)

Per this:

An indictment charging… conspiracy to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) and conspiracy to commit money laundering was unsealed today…

Between in or about October 2023 and in or about August 2024, RT sent wire transfers to U.S. Company-1 totaling approximately $9.7 million, which represented nearly 90% of U.S. Company-1’s bank deposits from all sources combined. The wires were sent from shell companies in Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and Mauritius, and were often accompanied by wire notes ascribing the payments to the purchase of electronics. For example, the wire note for a $318,800 wire payment from a shell entity in Turkey to U.S. Company-1 on March 1, read: “BUYING GOODS-INV.013-IPHONE 15 PRO MAX 512GB.”

U.S. Company-1 never disclosed to its viewers that it was funded and directed by RT. Nor did U.S. Company-1 or its two founders register with the Attorney General as an agent of a foreign principal

The first amendment right to free speech does not include the right to defraud. Fraud is generally considered a crime in the US. The indictments are not regarding the content that was produced/influenced, the indictments are regarding RT pretending to not be RT and falsifying financial records in order to do so.

Also, RT is still allowed to broadcast in the US. RT voluntarily pulled out of the US market after cable providers dropped the channel following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, as is there first amendment right.