As the federal investigation of the January 6 Capitol uprising expands, the scrutiny of Donald Trump’s decades-old ally Roger Stone is expected to intensify, given his ties to at least four Oath Keepers and Proud Boys from far right who were accused, in addition to Stone’s arsonist comments at rallies the night before the riot and in the weeks before, say former prosecutors and associates of Stone
Although Stone was not part of the attack on the Capitol by a pro-Trump crowd that shocked America, the self-styled “dirty cheater” – who was convicted of seven charges in Russia’s investigations in the 2016 elections, but later pardoned by Trump – had numerous contacts with key groups and figures involved in the riot in the previous weeks and immediately before it started.
The night before the riot, Stone spoke at a “Rally to Save America” in Washington DC, where the former president’s baseless allegations that the election was stolen by Democrats were pushed through and Stone called for an “epic fight for the future of this country, between darkness and light, between the pious and the wicked, between good and evil ”.
In early January 6, Stone was seen in cell phone videos near a Washington hotel dating six members of the far-right Oath Keepers serving as his “bodyguards,” including three who were charged in the federal investigation. . Stone, according to Mother Jones, also raised funds for “private security” events on January 5 and 6 before the attack on the Capitol, which included a Trump lecture urging his supporters to “fight like hell”.
On December 12, Stone also spoke at a “Stop the Steal” rally that amplified Trump’s erroneous claims of mass electoral fraud and urged hundreds of loyalists to Trump “fight to the bitter end … Never give up, never give up , never surrender, and fight for America, ”Stone pleaded with the crowd
Congressional investigators investigating the far-right Proud Boys, including some accused in the riot, have also been investigating the ties Stone had with its leaders Enrique Tarrio and Ethan Nordean, who were seen in a video in contact with Stone in another demonstration in DC the night before the December 12 rally, according to Just Security
Nordean is one of at least a dozen Proud Boys who have been charged so far in the riot investigation and one of several who are facing conspiracy charges
Tarrio, who attended Stone’s trial and had other contacts with him, was arrested in DC two days before the riot and accused of setting a Black Lives Matter flag on fire in December and carrying high-capacity combs for weapons
In 2016, Stone created the group “Stop the Steal”, which raised false claims that the election would be stolen from Trump, an unfounded accusation that grew exponentially after the election in 2020 to try to undermine Biden’s victory.
Last year, Trump protested Stone’s conviction in the Russian investigation, which included lying to Congress and resulted in a 40-month prison sentence. But just before Stone entered prison in mid-2020, Trump commuted his sentence and, in December, gave him total forgiveness.
Former senior prosecutors say Stone may be a growing focus of the federal riot investigation, which has already accused more than 300 people, including at least a dozen Proud Boys and 10 Oath Keepers for illegal acts related to their roles in the attack on the Capitol.
“Prosecutors follow the facts and evidence where they lead, and they should certainly be investigating any connections between Stone and those who were responsible for the January 6 uprising,” Mary McCord, a veteran prosecutor who led the national security division. in court at the end of the Obama administration until May 2017, said in an interview
Other former prosecutors go further and see Stone as a potential target.
“As a result of Trump’s corruptly forgiven pardon, it would be no surprise for Roger Stone to become the holy grail of the federal prosecutor,” said Phil Halpern, who retired last year after 36 years as a US assistant attorney specializing in cases of corruption. “In this mission, the Oath Keepers and the Proud Boys are just pawns that lead to the final prize. Rest assured, prosecutors will be offering tolerant treatment and other incentives in exchange for any testimony involving Stone in the Capitol riot. “
But some former prosecutors warn that accusing Stone will be difficult “in the absence of direct evidence of an intention to commit or help and encourage treason or seditious conspiracy,” said Paul Pelletier, former acting chief of the Justice Department’s fraud section.
The Washington Post and other media reported that Stone and Alex Jones, the host of the InfoWars conspiracy talk show, where Stone frequently appeared as a guest and promoted misinformation, are being investigated because of his ties to figures in the riot and whether they had any role in your planning.
Jones, who boasted that he paid $ 500,000 for the rally on January 6, and Stone have had close ties since at least the 2016 campaign, when Stone spoke brilliantly of Jones stating in an interview that his show is “the main source of everything”.
In an email, Stone vehemently denied having anything to do with the Capitol riot.
“Any statement, claim, innuendo or report alleging, or even implying, that I have had any involvement or knowledge, whether anticipated or contemporary, about the practice of any unlawful acts by any person or group in or around the US Capitol or in anywhere in Washington DC on January 6, 2021, is categorically false. “
Stone said earlier that he simply wanted to stimulate “peaceful” protests from Congress on January 6 and emphasized that he “denounced the violence on Capitol Hill”.
On his website, StoneColdTruth, he launched appeals to help with legal expenses, requesting checks to “the STONE LEGAL DEFENSE FUND to help prepare to prevent this malicious attack against me once again”.
Despite Stone’s denials, some former lobbying partners in Black, Manafort, Stone and Kelly express dismay at their decades of loyalty to Trump, a client of the company in the 1980s, about a decade after Stone gained notoriety for having played a small role in the 1972 Richard Nixon campaign, full of scandals.
“Roger has been totally devoted to Trump for more than 30 years and this has blurred his judgment of his own ethical values and led to a criminal conviction,” said Charlie Black in an interview.
“I’m not surprised that the devotion is still there, even after the election and post-forgiveness.”
Similarly, Stone’s former partner, Peter Kelly, said he was shocked by Stone’s recent effort to discredit the election results – and similar efforts by Michael Flynn, who was also convicted in the Russian investigation and pardoned by Trump . “To see people like Gen Flynn and Stone who escaped a serious encounter with the law, walking on the edge again is impressive,” “said Kelly in an interview.
In 2016, Kelly exploded Stone’s modus operandi, telling the Guardian that “Roger operates by a different set of rules, and his goal is to interrupt. He traffics the unusual. “