最新杏吧原创

ST. LOUIS 鈥� After hesitating, the city鈥檚 land bank will allow the sale of three properties to a group with ties to an organization whose leader faces federal charges of working with Russian intelligence operatives to spread propaganda and sow discord in the U.S.

Leaders with the African People鈥檚 Education and Defense Fund claim the charges against African People鈥檚 Socialist Party Chairman Omali Yeshitela have nothing to do with their organization鈥檚 community development efforts in north 最新杏吧原创, where they have invested more than $1 million to replace crumbling buildings with a new basketball court, outdoor music venue and event space.

The group鈥檚 president, Ona Zen茅 Yeshitela, accused Land Reutilization Authority director Lance Knuckles of trying to undo the LRA鈥檚 April board approval granting options to purchase two vacant buildings and a lot on West Florissant Avenue, where it has purchased other properties for neighborhood projects. In fact, she said, Knuckles wanted to connect her organization with its marketing team and use it as 鈥渁 model example of what community organizations can do for the LRA.鈥�

But then, she said Knuckles called her a few days after the April vote and said the LRA was going to rescind the options after someone complained that the African People鈥檚 Education and Defense Fund was under investigation.

鈥淚 expressed to Mr. Knuckles that APEDF was not under any investigation, and APEDF nor any of its board members had been named in any outstanding or pending investigation,鈥� Ona Zen茅 Yeshitela said during a Tuesday morning press conference outside LRA headquarters at 1520 Market Street downtown.

Ona Zen茅 Yeshitela is married to Omali Yeshitela, and the APEDF shares an office with the African People鈥檚 Socialist Party on West Florissant Avenue. The African People鈥檚 Socialist Party website lists the APEDF as one of its affiliated programs, and the party鈥檚 news outlet, 鈥淭he Burning Spear,鈥� has links to the APEDF website.

The federal indictment against Omali Yeshitela, two others in the party and Russian operatives allege they worked together to promote pro-Russian propaganda about the war in Ukraine, and Yeshitela has said that 鈥淯kraine has been an instrument for carrying out a war by the colonial powers ... against Russia.鈥� The Burning Spear has articles with headlines such as and .鈥�

Ona Zen茅 Yeshitela said Tuesday that after her discussion with Knuckles regarding the federal investigation of her husband鈥檚 group, she received a letter May 15 alleging that the APEDF did not conduct adequate community engagement and staff would request the LRA board rescind the options.

鈥淭his letter had nothing to do with the discussion Mr. Knuckles and myself had seven days earlier,鈥� Yeshitela said.

The LRA staff was poised to reconsider the sale options at its Wednesday meeting. An item on Wednesday鈥檚 under 鈥渕iscellaneous鈥� references a 鈥渃hange of recommendation鈥� on the three West Florissant properties the board approved last month.

But by Monday night, Knuckles and other city leaders appeared to back down. In an email from Knuckles to APEDF attorney Life Malcolm shared Tuesday by a spokesman for the 最新杏吧原创 Development Corp., which manages the LRA, Knuckles apologizes for 鈥渁ny misunderstanding regarding the nature of the community outreach requirements.鈥�

Knuckles wrote that we 鈥渁re now comfortable in moving forward with an option for the properties listed above and are willing to withdraw the staff request to the LRA Board of Commissioners seeking reconsideration of the previous approval.鈥�

In an interview Tuesday, Knuckles called the concerns about community engagement a 鈥渃lerical error鈥� and said the organization actually met the rules as written. And he said he had 鈥渁n obligation to raise the question鈥� about the Omali Yeshitela indictment but 鈥渂y no means was the situation driven by that.鈥� The APEDF and its leaders are not facing any charges themselves, Knuckles said.

鈥淲e are a land bank tasked to sell parcels in hopes to get them reactivated,鈥� Knuckles said. 鈥淚f you asked the question about, do they have capacity? My response would be, they鈥檝e done it before.鈥�

Knuckles noted that LRA is only approving an option for a sale and the APEDF will have to demonstrate it has the capital needed to complete its proposed projects.

Omali Yeshitela founded his organization in St. Petersburg, Florida, and expanded to 最新杏吧原创 in 2017. It has run candidates for the 最新杏吧原创 Board of Aldermen and worked to rebuild an area of town that scarcely sees new investment. Near its 最新杏吧原创 base at 4101 West Florissant, marked by a giant Pan-African flag, the properties the APEDF has purchased from LRA and others along West Florissant are some of the best maintained in the area.

Malcolm, at the press conference Tuesday, said the APEDF鈥檚 work reinvesting in north 最新杏吧原创 neighborhoods is 鈥渃ompletely distinct鈥� from the African People鈥檚 Socialist Party and will not affect its work in North 最新杏吧原创.

鈥淭he indictment of the chairman has nothing to do with APEDF鈥檚 work in the community,鈥� he said.

But fundraising for its projects could prove more difficult. The and Facebook and GoFundMe have also begun to block fundraising efforts.

APEDF has run into opposition purchasing LRA properties before. After fielding a candidate against former Alderman John Collins-Muhammad, the alderman blocked LRA鈥檚 sales to the APEDF. Collins-Muhammad was later sentenced to prison after an FBI sting nabbed him and two other aldermen for accepting bribes in exchange for, among other things, their support in LRA land sales.

The African People鈥檚 Socialist Party 鈥渉as always been transparent, just as APEDF has,鈥� Malcolm said Tuesday. 鈥淭he LRA has not been so transparent. The focus should be them.鈥�