A U.S. citizen has been detained for 10 days by a Russian court for using obscene language during a police raid on his Moscow apartment, according to reports from the Kommersant newspaper.
The individual, identified as 36-year-old Angelo Joseph Talarico the Fourth, allegedly swore at officers conducting a search related to a bitcoin theft investigation in the Murmansk region.
According to the police report, Talarico, who had relocated from Los Angeles to Russia, verbally lashed out at the officers using language they found offensive.
Despite his protests and the denial of the minor hooliganism charge, the court found him guilty and sentenced him to brief detention.
Talarico's lawyer argued that he and his wife were in the kitchen at the time of the incident and denied that his client used such language. However, the appeal was unsuccessful.
Diplomatic Tensions and Similar Cases
This case comes amidst heightened tensions and increased scrutiny of U.S. citizens in Russia. The U.S. government has cautioned its citizens against traveling to Russia due to potential harassment and the risk of arbitrary detention.
Several other U.S. citizens have faced legal troubles in Russia under various charges in recent years.
Evan Gershkovich, a journalist for the Wall Street Journal, was detained on espionage charges in 2023, and Paul Whelan, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, was detained under similar charges in 2020. Both individuals have denied the accusations against them.
Other Americans have been detained for less severe offenses, including U.S. Staff Sergeant Gordon Black in Vladivostok on theft suspicions and William Russell Nycum, who was jailed for petty hooliganism after being found naked near a children’s library.
