Reporter stumps Biden Admin with question on American arrested by Ukraine.

U.S. Citizen Arrested in Ukraine for Speech Crimes

The Ukrainian government has arrested a U.S. citizen residing in Ukraine for speech crimes. The individual in question is writer and YouTube commentator Gonzalo Lira, who was residing in Kharkiv at the time of his arrest. Lira was an outspoken critic of Zelenskyy’s regime and was arrested for justifying Putin’s invasion. The State Department was made aware of Lira’s arrest, but refused to provide further comment.

American arrested in Ukraine for speech crimes…

Biden Regime’s State Department won’t commit to helping him. pic.twitter.com/IbI1r0Sfcq

— Red Voice Media (@redvoicenews) May 29, 2023

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) announced on May 5 that it had arrested Lira for publicly justifying the armed aggression of the Russian Federation and spreading fakes about the war in Ukraine. Lira was a former contributor at the Insider and is a dual citizen of Chile and the United States. He has been critical of the Ukrainian position in the war and supportive of Russia’s President Vladimir Putin.

State Department Refuses to Help

During a news briefing, Epoch Times reporter Liam Cosgrove raised the question of the arrested U.S. citizen. When Cosgrove asked if the State Department was working on getting Lira released, spokesman Matthew Miller refused to provide further comment. “We obviously support the exercise of freedom of speech anywhere in the world, and I’ll leave it at that,” Miller said.

U.S. journalist Sarah Ashton-Cirillo, who is now a volunteer in the Ukrainian army, said, “This justice has been a long time coming. His arrest this week shows that Ukrainian officials don’t bow to popular pressure when a factual investigation leads to the truth.” Ashton-Cirillo will be a witness in the case.

Lira’s Controversial Views

Lira has promoted claims of bio-labs in Ukraine and hailed Russia’s invasion as “one of the most brilliant invasions in military history.” He had also criticized American reporters covering Ukraine, calling them “system pig journalists” and releasing footage of U.S. journalists eating at their hotel.

• Lira was a dating coach with the brand name “Coach Red Pill”
• He has written several works in Spanish
• He was critical of the Ukrainian position in the war and supportive of Russia’s President Vladimir Putin

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