Roger Stone Gagged, Again

Roger Stone did a very stupid thing. Judge Amy Berman Jackson wasn’t amused. Ruling that Stone “fully understands the power of words, and the power of symbols. And there’s nothing ambiguous about crosshairs,” the federal judge modified the indicted Stone’s gag order to ban him from any public statement about his case outside of “fundraising and proclaiming his innocence.”

WaPo reminds us how we got here:

In an appearance Monday on Infowars, the conspiracy-minded website, Stone described the image in the photo he posted as an “occult symbol.” But he did not explain what that supposed symbol might mean. “The fake news continues to make me a favorite target. This latest tempest is a perfect example about it,” he said.

“I took it down because it was open to misinterpretation and there’s a thousand stories now from the usual suspects saying Roger Stone posted a photo of Judge Jackson with a crosshairs on it,” he said. “That is false. That was not my intention, and I apologize if anyone got that impression. That was not the intent of my posting.”

He said he did not intend to threaten or disrespect the judge.

Jackson imposed the gag order Friday, telling Stone that he could not make statements to the media about his case near the federal courthouse in Washington, but imposing no other restrictions on his ability to make public comments.

The judge put greater constraints on attorneys and potential witnesses, telling them not to make statements that could prejudice jurors.
In the text accompanying the first post, Stone referred to special counsel Robert S. Mueller III, who brought the case against him.

“Through legal trickery Deep State hit man Robert S. Mueller III has guaranteed that my upcoming show trial is before Judge Amy Berman Jackson,” Stone wrote, adding that Jackson is “an Obama appointed judge” and the “#fixisin.”