A US Official Just Joined Russia’s Special Forces. He Still Holds Office in Vermont

Nov 09, 2026 17:14

8 min read

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Jess Daly

Reporter

Russia’s Akhmat special forces  announced their newest recruit in October 2026, a man who describes himself as Iranian-American, operating under the callsign “Vermont.” Thousands of miles from Russia’s war in Ukraine, the recruit still holds elected public office in the US.

Helali relocated to Moscow after winning public office in the US in 2024. He has since traveled to Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory and persistently supported Russia’s war.

This war must end, and the only way to end it is to eliminate the root causes and ensure that Russia achieves all its goals in a special military operation.

Christopher Helali

But how did Christopher Helali, the elected high bailiff of Orange County, Vermont, go from holding public office in the United States to joining the military of a country waging war against Ukraine?

Who is Christopher Helali?

Helali’s decision to join Russia’s military did not come out of nowhere. Long before signing a contract with Moscow, the American politician had developed ties with organizations and political figures in North Korea and Iran.

Helali previously served in the US military and worked as a high school teacher in New Hampshire. In 2020, he unsuccessfully ran for the US House of Representatives as a communist candidate, receiving approximately 1% of the vote.

His political activities have taken him far beyond US borders. He reportedly traveled to Syria to fight alongside Kurdish forces against ISIS.

From June 2024, Helali headed the North American Executive Committee of the North Korean International Solidarity Group, an organization promoting support for Pyongyang. In March 2026, the group reported that Helali met its president, Zheng Yutong, in Beijing, where they discussed activities commemorating former North Korean leader Kim Jong Il and plans to strengthen cooperation with the American Communist Party. 

Helali resigned as the party's international secretary in July 2026, during his visit to Iran, where he honored former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei  who was killed in US-Israeli strikes earlier that year.

Helali declared that he would “pray for Imam Khamenei and his family.” On X, he repeatedly identified himself as the “ELECTED High Bailiff of Orange County, VT, USA” and claimed to be the only elected American politician in Iran at the time.

Helali was accompanied in Iran by Jackson Hinkle, an American pro-Kremlin influencer known for spreading disinformation about Russia’s war against Ukraine. Both men have visited Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory and participated in a Russian-sponsored briefing at the United Nations, where Hinkle accused Ukraine of terrorism and defended Moscow’s actions.

From promoting Russia’s war to joining it 

Following his Vermont election, his activities have mainly centered on Russia and Iran. Helali moved to Moscow in 2025, citing what he described to Vermont reporters as “increased scrutiny and oppression” from the US government and his local community.

Describing himself as an “investigative journalist,” Helali uses social media platforms, including his X account with more than 50,000 followers, to promote Kremlin narratives and openly endorse Russia’s territorial claims over Ukraine. “Crimea IS and ALWAYS will be RUSSIA!” he declared in one post. In another, he insisted, “DONETSK IS AND ALWAYS WILL BE RUSSIA!”

How far back his ties to Moscow go remains unclear. While filming a report for Russian media in the Kursk region, Helali claimed to have supported the Russian cause since 2014. He also participated in a briefing organised by Russia’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations promoting the 2024 World Youth Festival in Sochi, which he later attended.

Helali has echoed these Kremlin talking points, describing his inclusion in Ukraine’s Myrotvorets  database following visits to Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory, as an honour and as part of a fight against what he called “Bandera and neo-Nazi ideology.”

In May 2026, Helali joined more than 50 foreign journalists on a Russian-organised visit to Starobilsk in occupied Luhansk, following a strike Moscow claimed had killed college students. Ukraine stated it struck military infrastructure including ammunition depots, air defense systems, and the headquarters of the Rubicon unit. Speaking to Russian state media at the scene, Helali accused Ukraine of deliberately targeting civilians and called for Moscow to achieve its military objectives. Throughout its full-scale invasion, Moscow has repeatedly promoted its account of its invasion through foreign visitors and media personalities.  

In June 2026, Russian media reported that Helali had personally written to Vladimir Putin requesting Russian citizenship. Then, his ambitions went beyond a Russian passport. In October 2026, Akhmat commander Apti Alaudinov announced that Helali had completed military training and signed a contract to serve in the unit.

When Russian state media asked when he would deploy to the frontlines, Helali claimed he was already taking part in the “special military operation”—the Kremlin’s propaganda term for its war against Ukraine. What Helali is actually doing within Russia’s military is still unclear. 

“I admired their professionalism, brotherhood, discipline and respect for both religions of my family—Orthodox Christianity and Islam,” Helali said in an interview with Russian state media.

Akhmat special forces are linked to Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov and commanded by Alaudinov. UNITED24 Media has previously reported allegations of serious human rights abuses involving Akhmat units, including the torture and extrajudicial killing of civilians, looting, and the operation of detention facilities in Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory.

Serving Russia’s military while holding US public office 

Back in Vermont, the high bailiff’s position is largely ceremonial but carries specific legal responsibilities. Under state law, the high bailiff can serve legal documents that the county sheriff cannot and assume the sheriff’s powers in certain circumstances, including when the office becomes vacant.

UNITED24 Media reached out to the Orange County Sheriff, George Contois, who said that Helali has had no involvement with his office and that his “duty as High Bailiff would be to arrest the Sheriff and I've yet to be arrested…He has done absolutely nothing and has remained anonymous to my office,” Contois said.

Contois added that he was aware of the scrutiny surrounding Helali, but despite Helali’s relocation to Russia and his military enlistment, the sheriff said he has “not heard of any effort to remove him for cause; simply let his term run out,” Contois said, “To my knowledge, he has not sought re-election.” The sheriff also confirmed that he is “yet to see the man, only photos.”

In the November 3, 2026 US midterm elections, Republican J.T. Dodge secured the Orange County High Bailiff seat. Dodge is expected to replace Helali when his term expires in February, 2027. Until then, Helali remains an elected US official.

Vermont election officials have previously confirmed that the position does not require its holder to live in the state, meaning Helali’s move to Russia does not automatically disqualify him from office. But beyond the ethical questions surrounding an elected US official joining the military of a country waging an illegal war against Ukraine, his enlistment raises a more immediate concern: what happens if Orange County actually needs its high bailiff?Under US law, Americans are not automatically prohibited from serving in foreign armed forces, nor does such service necessarily result in the loss of US citizenship. The US State Department explains that federal law restricts certain foreign military recruitment activities conducted on US soil, while citizenship consequences depend on individual circumstances.

Whether Helali could return to Vermont to fulfil his duties is a separate question. UNITED24 Media contacted Vermont state authorities for comment but had not received a response at the time of publishing.

In July 2026, before joining the Akhmat unit, Helali told Vermont media that he would be willing to return to the state if his duties required it. At the same time, he claims to have been placed on a US government no-fly list, potentially complicating his ability to travel.

His military service presents another potential obstacle. Russian military regulations restrict the circumstances in which contracted personnel can leave service, while unauthorized absence and desertion can carry criminal penalties. His ability to return may therefore depend on permission from Russian military authorities.

Alaudinov also claimed in late October that Helali intended to surrender his US passport after obtaining Russian citizenship.

Beyond the question of whether Helali could fulfill his duties should he be called upon lies a more troubling one: how does an elected US official justify serving in the military of a state waging an illegal war of aggression? For now, Helali remains in Russia’s armed forces, while the people of Orange County are left with an elected official whose service is no longer to his country, but to a nation waging an illegal war of aggression.

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