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Activist Hoodwinked by Hackers: 'Russians...Trying to Stir up Trouble'

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One North Carolina native says he was deceived by Russian operatives. Conrad James, president of Living Ultra-Violet, a community activist organization, says in the Fall of 2016 he was invited to speak at a rally in Charlotte. The group gathered to highlight the death of Keith Lamont Scott, a 43-year-old black man shot and killed by police officers.  

James planned a day of peaceful protests for hundreds only to find out he was duped by Russian hackers posing as a group called Black Matters US.

This southern revolutionary told ABC News he now realizes the Russians behind Black Matters US were only trying to "stir up trouble," adding, "Their intent was obviously to have some type of emotionally filled rally where people are adding fuel to the fire that was already happening around Charlotte."

In his interview with NPR, the 20-something-year-old activist says he looked at their online presence and the group checked out - so he had no idea they were in fact Russian agitators working at a troll farm.  

Federal investigators found James was one of many civil rights protesters who were unknowingly incited to action by the Russians. In one case, five black personal trainers were paid to offer self-defense classes to encourage African Americans to be ready to protect their rights. They too were tricked into participating by these wily cyber agents.

For James, he says he was just doing "his duty as, like, civil justice warriors."  The Harvard student studying government policies, says he is shocked at the influence of hackers who in his opinion "hacked social media algorithms to be able to produce a real-world result of real-world value."

James, who calls himself the non-profit prophet, is on a mission to shine the light on racial injustice through peaceful protests and says the next time he is asked to speak at a rally he will check the group's articles of incorporation instead of relying solely on social media.
 

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