A 29-year-old gun-rights activist served as a covert Russian agent while living in Washington, gathering intelligence on American officials and political organisations and working to establish back-channel lines of communications for the Kremlin, federal prosecutors charged Monday.

The announcement of the arrest of Maria Butina came just hours after President Donald Trump met Russian President Vladimir Putin and just days after special counsel Robert Mueller charged 12 Russian intelligence officials with directing a sprawling hacking effort aimed at swaying the 2016 election.

Duma Deputy, Vyacheslav Nikonov, said the arrest "sounds very much like McCarthyism."  

Mueller didn't file the charge against Butina, but court papers show her activities revolved around American politics during the 2016 campaign and included efforts to use contacts with the National Rifle Association to develop relationships with US politicians and gather intelligence for Russia.

Reacting to the summit in Helsinki between the two presidents, Nikonov said he was "not too enthusiastic" about its results.

"That was the unfreezing of the relationship that should exist. Otherwise the human race and both our countries are in trouble," he added.

Nikonov said he thought Putin was "sincere" when he suggested that US officials could take part in the investigation of 12 Russians indicted by the US on Friday, for alleged hacking.

Ultranationalist politician Vladimir Zhirinovsky also welcomed this announcement by Putin during the joint news conference with Trump.

"It's absolutely necessary for the investigators to meet, the representatives of law enforcement," he said.

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Moscow – 17 July 2018

1. Various of Kremlin and Red Square

2.Various interiors of State Duma of sign reading: (Russian) "State Duma"

3. SOUNDBITE: (English) Vyacheslav Nikonov, State Duma Deputy:

"It looks like this 29-year-old girl was detained because, a) she's Russian, b) she knows Alexander Torshin, the former senator who now works in the Central Bank and c) that she was for improving the relationship between Russia and the United States without being registered as a foreign agent. To me it sounds very much like McCarthyism. Where is American democracy?"

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FILE: Moscow – 21 April 2013

4. Various STILLS of Maria Butina taking part in a gun rights rally

ASSOCIATED PRESS – AP CLIENTS ONLY

Moscow – 17 July 2018

5. Cutaway of State Duma

6. SOUNDBITE: (English) Vyacheslav Nikonov, State Duma Deputy:

"Well, we're not too enthusiastic about the results of the summit. That was the unfreezing of the relationship that should exist. Otherwise the human race and both our countries are in trouble."

7. Cutaway of State Duma

8. SOUNDBITE: (English) Vyacheslav Nikonov, State Duma Deputy:

"I think he was absolutely sincere saying that the Mueller commission guys can come to Moscow and interrogate them, together with Russian investigators, according to the procedures which exist."

9. Cutaway of State Duma

10. SOUNDBITE: (Russian) Vladimir Zhirinovsky, leader of the unltranationalist "Liberal Democratic Party of Russia":

"It's absolutely necessary for the investigators to meet, the representatives of law enforcement. If there's suspicion in America in relation to employees of our intelligence bodies, them let them come here. Come here, meet, discuss, and all questions will be decided in the right way. But just to make announcements that allegedly some kind of group, somewhere did something – that's just gossip."

11. Various of people on Manezh Square

12. SOUNDBITE: (Russian) Ludmilla Giorgievna, Moscow resident:

"I think yes (that the Trump-Putin summit will change Russia-US relations) – we hope for the best. They said that the Cold War is over. It's getting warmer. So we hope that our generation will see better times. And our grandchildren, even better."

13. Cutaway of people on Manezh Square

14. SOUNDBITE: (Russian) Dmitry Kolokosky, Moscow resident:

"I really hope so (that relations will improve) I try to be positive about things. Considering that we had such a successful World Cup, I'm hoping that things will go in that direction."

15. Various of Red Square