Russians Organized NYC Anti-Trump Protest After Election: Report

NEW YORK, NY — A Facebook page tied to Russian operatives organized a Union Square rally against then-President-Elect Donald Trump last November that drew thousands of protesters, The Hill reported Tuesday. BlackMattersUS, a page run by a Russian "troll farm," organized the Nov. 12 rally to stoke divisions in the U.S., the news site reported.

Some 16,000 Facebook users said they were going to the event, titled "Trump is NOT my President. March against Trump." Between 5,000 and 10,000 actually showed up, according to The Hill.

An investigation by the Russian magazine RBC linked BlackMattersUS to the Internet Research Agency, or IRA, a group with ties to the Kremlin that bought 3,000 Facebook ads as part of a disinformation campaign, The Hill reported. The IRA reportedly ran more than 400 Facebook accounts, which the social media site has deleted.

The rally was one of many held across the country after Trump defeated Hillary Clinton on Nov. 8. BlackMattersUS tried to make it seem like a legitimate protest, advising attendees to "bring signs, snacks, water" and to "(b)e safe!"

"Divided is the reason we just fell. We must unite despite our differences to stop HATE from ruling the land," the event description says.

BlackMattersUS also organized rallies around killings of black men by police officers and events purporting to offer "legal education for immigrants," The Hill reported.

Read the full story at The Hill here.

(Lead image: A crowd marches from Union Square to Trump Tower in protest of new Republican president-elect Donald Trump on Nov. 12, 2016. Photo by Yana Paskova/Getty Images)