“We can control your life. We can punish you for what you've been saying that we disagree with” – Scott Ritter described US authorities' possible motive for preventing him from traveling to Russia.

The former Marine Corps intelligence officer and Sputnik contributor shared his reaction with Sputnik to US Customs and Border Patrol officers removing him from a flight heading to Russia where he was going to address the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).

Ritter said he was also planning to shoot a documentary film to inform an American audience “about the reality of Russia”.

“The US government knew full well what I was planning to do. And this is why, I believe, they acted in the way they did. This has a chilling effect, not just on me and the work I was doing, but on all Americans who choose to speak out against the policies of the United States that they disagree with and to travel abroad at the same time that they are criticizing the US government. And what the US government is saying is that we can control your movement. We can control your life. We can punish you for what you've been saying that we disagree with,” Ritter emphasized. 

On June 3, the ex-US Marine Corps intelligence officer was removed from a plane to Russia by CBP officers who seized his passport, claiming they were acting “by orders” from the US State Department.