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I am curious, how can you charge someone for what amounts to speech - something that the 1st amendment clearly guarantees freedom of?

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There are clear laws regarding how foreign nationals can or cannot interact with elections in the US. https://www.fec.gov/updates/foreign-nationals/

However, SCOTUS has ruled time and time again that US constitution applies not only to citizens, but to everyone in the country (and US laws would not apply to anyone entirely out of the country), so said laws might not hold up to SCOTUS scrutiny (this might end up changing elections forever, much like the Citizens United ruling)

That doesn't mean anything until SCOTUS sets an actual precedent showing that such concerns can supersede election laws involving foreign agents.

From WaPo's write-up:

"The suspects are charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud, and aggravated identity theft."

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