Enemies of Donald Trump on Russia's latest sanctions list

If re-elected, Trump promised to mediate between Russia and Ukraine and end the war within 24 hours. Photo: MIKHAIL KLIMENTIEV /SPUTNIK/AFP via Getty Images

Russia's latest sanctions list includes several enemies of Donald Trump as the Kremlin tries to woo a potential next president of the United States.

Michael Byrd, the Capitol police officer who shot and killed a pro-Trump rioter during the Jan. 6 uprising, is among the 500 names chosen by the Kremlin.

Lieutenant Byrd, who killed Ashley Babbitt when she joined a mob trying to storm the Capitol , did nothing to publicly criticize Moscow, unlike most other targets.

Mr. Trump defiantly refused to support Ukraine in its fight against a Russian invasion if he returned to the White House.

>Instead, he promised to mediate between the two sides and end the war within 24 hours.

Other names on the latest Kremlin list include Brad Raffensperger, Georgia's Secretary of State, who denied Trump's request to «find» the 11,780 votes needed him to reverse his defeat in 2020.

Mr Raffensperger appeared to take the Kremlin sanctions as a badge of honour, retweeting a message from Gabriel Sterling, his chief operating officer.

He wrote:

A big honor to @GaSecofState Raffensperger. He is one of hundreds of Americans who have been banned from entering Russia by Vladimir Putin. So Brad is doing everything right. #gapol pic.twitter.com/fNJkR4Klgz

— Gabriel Sterling (@GabrielSterling) May 20, 2023

The Kremlin is also targeting Letitia James, the New York State Attorney General who has been prosecuting Trump and his businesses in the courts. She again did not speak publicly about the war in Ukraine.

At least seven people are believed to have died as a result of the January 6 uprising. In recent months, US courts have handed down harsh sentences to some of those convicted.

Mr. Trump, who used a recording of some of the rioters singing the US anthem at their rallies, signaled he was ready to pardon some of the prisoners.

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Moscow has shown its sympathies by saying that its targets are «those in government and law enforcement who are directly involved in the persecution of dissidents in the aftermath of the so-called storming of the Capitol.»