Case Explained: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. AUGUSTUS C. ROMAIN, JR

Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit Filed: 2026-08-05 Docket: 8:22-cr-00259-WFJ-AEP-7 The eleventh-circuit affirmed the defendants’ conspiracy convictions for acting as foreign agents without notifying the Attorney General in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 951(a) and conspiring to do so under 18 U.S.C. § 371. The court held that the statutes are constitutional as applied, applying intermediate scrutiny because the laws are content-neutral regulations of conduct with an expressive element that serve the important governmental interest of identifying individuals acting on behalf of foreign governments without suppressing free speech. Regarding sufficiency of evidence, the court found that a reasonable jury could conclude the defendants agreed to act under the direction of a Russian official and committed overt acts in furtherance of that agreement, interpreting “direction” under § 951(d) to include guidance or supervision rather than requiring strict control. The court further ruled that the government was not required to prove the defendants knew of the registration requirement, as § 951 is a general intent crime and conspiracy under § 371 does not require specific knowledge of the underlying law’s illegality. Additionally, the court determined the district court did not abuse its discretion in admitting co-conspirator hearsay statements, refusing to give requested jury instructions regarding the elements of the substantive offense or limiting evidence against a former member, and finding that prosecutorial questions about a proposed “doxing” website were accurate reflections of meeting notes and not misconduct. Consequently, the defendants’ convictions stand and their sentences remain in effect. Do It For The Case Law is a news reporting service. Nothing in this episode constitutes legal advice.