Roger Stone Caught On Video With Oath Keepers Before Capitol Riot
A newly surfaced video showed longtime GOP operative Roger Stone with the far-right militant group Oath Keepers before the January 6 riot at the Capitol, ABC News reported. Two members of the group have notably been charged with conspiracy in connection to the storming of the historic United States building.
The video was allegedly posted just after 10 a.m. on January 6 — hours before the Capitol was stormed after Donald Trump told his supporters to march on the building following his Stop the Steal speech. The publication noted that the video showed Stone outside of a Washington, D.C., hotel as the militants “[hovered] around him.”
“So, hopefully we have this today, right?” one supporter asked Stone in the clip.
According to ABC News, it’s unclear what the person was referring to. In response to the publication’s piece, Stone said he had “no advance knowledge” of the Capitol riot.
“I could not even tell you the names of those who volunteered to provide security for me, required because of the many threats against me and my family.”
Vice News previously reported that Stone — who spoke at the Stop the Steal rallies currently under scrutiny by the FBI — hired Oath Keepers to protect him on the eve of the breaching of the Capitol.
The video comes not long after attorney and author Seth Abramson predicted that the federal law enforcement would soon be closing in on Stone for his purported ties to the riot. The attorney underlined that Proud Boys members Nicholas Ochs — who is also facing a conspiracy charge for purported links to the event — is friends with Stone.
According to ABC News, the Department of Justice is focusing its energy on prosecuting individuals involved in the incident.
“The Justice Department has aggressively gone after individuals who participated in the insurrection and continues to explore the role extremist groups may have played in coordinating the incursion that left five dead, including a Capitol police officer,” the publication claimed.
Abramson also highlighted that the FBI recently executed search warrants on the residences of Alan Hostetter and Russell Taylor, the organizers of the American Phoenix Project rally on January 5 where Stone also spoke. The bureau is allegedly focusing on the language the pair used at the event, which the author noted doesn’t bode well for Stone, who reportedly used words that echoed the pair’s remarks.
According to District of Columbia Attorney General Karl Racine, his office is looking into incitement charges for all individuals who spoke at the rally that took place before the attack on the Capitol.
