Wilmer Puello-Mota

When Puello-Mota was 19, he joined the United States Air Force for six years deploying to Afghanistan in 2015 to fight in the war in Afghanistan.^[2] Puello-Mota later joined the Massachusetts Air National Guard in June 2019, rising to the rank of technical sergeant with the 104th Fighter Wing.^[3] Puello-Mota served as a member of the Holyoke City Council in Massachusetts from 2021 to 2023, representing Ward 2, a predominantly Puerto Rican district after winning the 2021 election receiving 400 votes and was the first candidate of Latino descent.^[4] His military service was terminated in October 2022 after he was charged with possessing child pornography and forging and counterfeiting military documents to avoid prosecution.^[5] Despite these charges, Puello-Mota continued to serve as a councilman until January 2024.^[6] On January 7, 2024, Puello-Mota evaded prosecution after planning on pleading guilty on January 9 of the same year by going to the Dulles International Airport bound for Istanbul, Turkey to enter Russia which was acknowledged by Rhode Island Attorney General .^[7] In April 2024, videos were shown from pro-Kremlin news sources on Telegram showing Puello-Mota enlisting for the Russian army at an enlistment center in Khanty-Mansiysk of western Siberia with the caption "An American signed a military contract at the patriots centre in Khanty-Mansiysk" though prior to this official enlistment release Puello-Mota was shown fighting alongside Russian soldiers during the capture of Avdiivka in Ukraine, planting a U.S. flag during the capture.^[8] In another video released in August 2024, Puello-Mota denounced the United States' actions against Russia while he also states that he does not believe he's a "traitor" to the United States.^[9]

On October 10, 2025, Puello-Mota attempted to vote in a Holyoke city election while fighting for Russia which was met with legal scrutiny with his ballot being set for legal review.^[10] A week later, his absentee ballot was denied after legal review due to the fact he didn’t indicate he was living overseas, didn’t provide his address outside of the country, as well as he didn’t say which method he’d prefer to receive his ballot according to a city clerk.^[11]