While operative Paul Erickson was well known in South Dakota republican circles, not all republicans knew him very well.
Erickson has been connected with Maria Butina, who is being detained by federal officials and being charged as an unregistered Russian agent. Butina made a number of speaking appearances in the state in 2015 and 2016.
South Dakota Senator John Thune first came across Erickson years ago….

Thune says Erickson was not part of the mainstream South Dakota republican party…..

Thune says Butina misrepresented herself…………

Butina spoke to groups at the University of South Dakota, in the Sioux Falls school district, and to a Teen Age Republican gathering.