A US Special Counsel indicted on Friday a Russian Internet agency and several Russian figures with meddling in the 2014 election campaign through to the 2016 presidential polls. Russia’s Internet Research Agency “had a strategic goal to sow discord in the US political system, including the 2016 US presidential election,” said the indictment filed by Special Counsel Robert Mueller. The 37-page indictment described a conspiracy to disrupt the US election by people who adopted false online personas to push divisive messages; traveled to the United States to collect intelligence; and staged political rallies while posing as Americans. The indictment broadly echoes the conclusions of a January 2017 US intelligence community assessment, which found that Russia had meddled in the election, and that its goals eventually included aiding then-businessman Donald Trump, the Republican candidate who went on to win a surprise victory over Democratic Party candidate Hillary Clinton in November 2016. “This indictment serves as a reminder that people are not always who they appear to be on the Internet,” Rod Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general, told reporters. “The indictment alleges that the Russian conspirators want to promote discord in the United States and undermine public confidence in democracy. We must not allow them to succeed.” Rosenstein added however that the new indictment does not allege that Russian meddling altered the outcome of presidential election. In addition, he said, "there is no allegation in this indictment that any American was a knowing participant in this illegal activity." The indictment names the Internet Research Agency, based in St. Petersburg, Russia; 13 Russian nationals; and two other companies. A Russian lawmaker called the US charges “another anti-Russian push,” RIA reported. The Foreign Ministry deemed them “absurd.” President Trump has been briefed on the indictment announced on Friday, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said. Trump has never unequivocally accepted the intelligence agencies’ report, and has denounced Mueller’s probe into whether his campaign colluded with the Kremlin as a “witch hunt.” Facebook and Twitter both declined to comment on the indictment. “Defendants posted derogatory information about a number of candidates, and by early to mid-2016, Defendants’ operations included supporting the presidential campaign of then-candidate Donald J. Trump ... and disparaging Hillary Clinton,” the court document said. The indictment appeared likely to provide ammunition to Democrats and others arguing for a continued aggressive probe of the matter. The 2017 intelligence agency finding has spawned investigations into any ties between Republican Trump’s campaign and Moscow. Russia denies interfering in the election. Trump denies any collusion by his campaign. Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats told the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday that he had already seen evidence Russia was targeting US elections in November, when Republican control of the House of Representatives and Senate are at stake, plus a host of positions in state governments. “Frankly, the United States is under attack,” Coats said at an annual hearing on worldwide threats. Russia would try to interfere in the 2018 US midterm elections by using social media to spread propaganda and misleading reports, much as it did in the 2016 campaign, intelligence chiefs said at the hearing. One of those indicted in the Russia probe is a businessman with ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Yevgeny Prigozhin is an entrepreneur from St. Petersburg whos been dubbed "Putins chef" by Russian media. His restaurants and catering businesses have hosted the Kremlin leaders dinners with foreign dignitaries. In the more than 10 years since establishing a relationship with Putin, his business has expanded to services for the military. Prigozhins assets also include an oil trading firm that reportedly has been sending private Russian fighters to Syria. Prigozhin is on the list of those sanctioned by the US.