(CNN) Russian gun rights enthusiast Maria Butina was released from the Tallahassee Federal Correction Institution on Friday after having served more than 15 months behind bars, according to the US Federal Bureau of Prisons, and was immediately deported to Moscow.

Butina, a Russian national who studied at American University in Washington, pleaded guilty last year to conspiracy to act as an agent of a foreign government after she tried to infiltrate conservative political groups, including the National Rifle Association, and promote Russian interests. Butina was sentenced to 18 months in prison earlier this year and has been in custody since her arrest on July 15, 2018.

The 30-year-old gun rights enthusiast was the first Russian citizen convicted of crimes relating to the 2016 election, although her efforts seemed to be separate from the sweeping election-meddling outlined in former special counsel Robert Mueller's report.

Butina departed the US from Miami at about 6 p.m. Friday on a direct flight to Moscow. She intends to return to her hometown of Barnaul in Siberia.

In a pair of exclusive interviews with CNN earlier this year, Butina said she has no plans to become a media darling or television star when she returns home, a nod to the celebrity homecoming Russian intelligence agent Anna Chapman received when she returned to Russia as part of a 2010 spy swap.

Read More