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mahatmakanejeeves

(56,886 posts)
Sat Feb 20, 2021, 09:29 AM Feb 2021

U.S. investigating possible ties between Roger Stone, Alex Jones and Capitol rioters

Source: Washington Post

Legal Issues

U.S. investigating possible ties between Roger Stone, Alex Jones and Capitol rioters

By Spencer S. Hsu and Devlin Barrett
Feb. 20, 2021 at 6:00 a.m. EST

The Justice Department and FBI are investigating whether high-profile right-wing figures — including Roger Stone and Alex Jones — may have played a role in the Jan. 6 Capitol breach as part of a broader look into the mind-set of those who committed violence and their apparent paths to radicalization, according to people familiar with the investigation.

The investigation into potential ties between key figures in the riot and those who promoted former president Donald Trump’s false assertions that the election was stolen from him does not mean those who may have influenced rioters will face criminal charges, particularly given U.S. case law surrounding incitement and free speech, the people said. Officials at this stage said they are principally seeking to understand what the rioters were thinking — and who may have influenced beliefs — which could be critical to showing their intentions at trial.

However, investigators also want to determine whether anyone who influenced them bears enough responsibility to justify potential criminal charges, such as conspiracy or aiding the effort, the officials said. That prospect is still distant and uncertain, they emphasized.

Nevertheless, while Trump’s impeachment trial focused on the degree of his culpability for the violence, this facet of the case shows investigators’ ongoing interest in other individuals who never set foot in the Capitol but may have played an outsized role in what happened there through their influence, networks or action. ... “We are investigating potential ties between those physically involved in the attack on the Capitol and individuals who may have influenced them, such as Roger Stone, Alex Jones and [Stop the Steal organizer] Ali Alexander,” said a U.S. official, who, like others, spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a pending matter.

{snip}

Spencer Hsu
Spencer S. Hsu is an investigative reporter, two-time Pulitzer finalist and national Emmy Award nominee. Hsu has covered homeland security, immigration, Virginia politics and Congress. Follow https://twitter.com/hsu_spencer

Devlin Barrett
Devlin Barrett writes about the FBI and the Justice Department, and is the author of "October Surprise: How the FBI Tried to Save Itself and Crashed an Election." He was part of a team that won a Pulitzer Prize in 2018 for National Reporting, for coverage of Russian interference in the U.S. election. Follow https://twitter.com/DevlinBarrett

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/legal-issues/stone-jones-capitol-riot-investigation-radicalization/2021/02/19/97d6e6ee-6cad-11eb-9ead-673168d5b874_story.html

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U.S. investigating possible ties between Roger Stone, Alex Jones and Capitol rioters (Original Post) mahatmakanejeeves Feb 2021 OP
Good news. Keep these creeps on edge if nothing else for a while riversedge Feb 2021 #1
+ agree. nt iluvtennis Feb 2021 #27
They were key players dalton99a Feb 2021 #2
Roger Stone cannot be charged as he was pardoned however he can be compelled to testify in which cstanleytech Feb 2021 #3
He wasn't pardoned from future crimes was he? dem4decades Feb 2021 #4
No but didn't the riot take place before the pardon? If so then he might be in the clear. cstanleytech Feb 2021 #5
His pardon took place before the insurrection. nt Gore1FL Feb 2021 #14
Stone's pardon was for his role in the DNC hack - he can be charged for other crimes dalton99a Feb 2021 #6
I thought the clemency was granted months ago and that cstanleytech Feb 2021 #8
Stone and the other traitors were pardon on Dec 23, 2020 as a Christmas present from the head turbinetree Feb 2021 #12
That's correct, but it was only for the DNC/Russia hack charges dalton99a Feb 2021 #16
I thought a presidential pardon covered all prior cstanleytech Feb 2021 #18
Trump didn't give him a blanket pardon dalton99a Feb 2021 #19
Stone was pardoned 2 weeks *before* the January 6 putsch. Eugene Feb 2021 #15
Stone,Trump first planned Stop the Steal revolt as 2016 response. blm Feb 2021 #7
I think you're right ewagner Feb 2021 #13
It'd be sweet to see Stone finally pay for his crimes groundloop Feb 2021 #9
You could use UFM instead... bluecollar2 Feb 2021 #24
This article reminded me of something UpInArms Feb 2021 #10
Put that freak Stone back in the klink Blue Owl Feb 2021 #11
Yeah, we wouldn't want to get at the actual perpetraitors bucolic_frolic Feb 2021 #17
It is about time JonLP24 Feb 2021 #20
Yup. Since when does law enforcement NOT interview connected witnesses who appear to be involved? theneworiginal Feb 2021 #23
goood. when are the doj and fbi going after trump? AllaN01Bear Feb 2021 #21
Also Michael Flynn and his brother. blueinredohio Feb 2021 #22
I hope those dbags are completely screwn. BobTheSubgenius Feb 2021 #25
I can't believe this didn't occur to me before. BobTheSubgenius Feb 2021 #26
I checked some murder statutes jmowreader Feb 2021 #32
I'd love to see Alex Jones get what he deserves. nt oldsoftie Feb 2021 #28
I'd Love To See Them Locked Up COL Mustard Feb 2021 #29
Alex Jones is such a colossal piece of shit. Initech Feb 2021 #30
This message was self-deleted by its author geralmar Feb 2021 #31
Lock them up!!!!! Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin Feb 2021 #33

cstanleytech

(26,080 posts)
3. Roger Stone cannot be charged as he was pardoned however he can be compelled to testify in which
Sat Feb 20, 2021, 09:45 AM
Feb 2021

case Jones ass might be in the frying pan.
Of course if Stone lies I wonder if he could then be charged with the crime since it would be part of an ongoing crime.

cstanleytech

(26,080 posts)
5. No but didn't the riot take place before the pardon? If so then he might be in the clear.
Sat Feb 20, 2021, 09:48 AM
Feb 2021

Or atleast he might be assuming he does not lie to the investigators or if he should be compelled to testify since he was pardoned and he can hardly use the 5th amendment to shield himself as he wont face any criminal charges due to the pardon.

cstanleytech

(26,080 posts)
8. I thought the clemency was granted months ago and that
Sat Feb 20, 2021, 10:01 AM
Feb 2021

Trump then granted him a pardon just before Trumps ass was being booted to the curb?

turbinetree

(24,632 posts)
12. Stone and the other traitors were pardon on Dec 23, 2020 as a Christmas present from the head
Sat Feb 20, 2021, 10:15 AM
Feb 2021

insurrectionist, so we will see what happens, he may not be free and clear............because if he had meet and greets after that pardon, well that pardon does not cover his actions.............unless the "guy" that plays golf gave him a pocket future pardon, when there is not one................

dalton99a

(81,065 posts)
19. Trump didn't give him a blanket pardon
Sat Feb 20, 2021, 10:35 AM
Feb 2021

in fact, he didn't give anyone a blanket pardon (blanket pardons are rare)


Eugene

(61,592 posts)
15. Stone was pardoned 2 weeks *before* the January 6 putsch.
Sat Feb 20, 2021, 10:16 AM
Feb 2021

Trump pardoned Stone December 23, 2020.

https://www.npr.org/2020/12/23/949820820/trump-pardons-roger-stone-paul-manafort-and-charles-kushner

Legal experts also say the pardon may have been too shoddily written to fully protect Stone against some Trump-Russia charges.

blm

(112,919 posts)
7. Stone,Trump first planned Stop the Steal revolt as 2016 response.
Sat Feb 20, 2021, 09:51 AM
Feb 2021

They PLAN to lie big to his audience of malleable idiots as SOP and they fall in line.

ewagner

(18,964 posts)
13. I think you're right
Sat Feb 20, 2021, 10:15 AM
Feb 2021

If I'm not mistaken, Stone was given credit for coining the phrase "Stop the Steal".

The signs, the bumper stickers, the flags...all that stuff were designed and the printing was authorized by somebody...probably Ali, under Stone's direction. The whole protest was planned long before the election and the themes, methods of delivery of the message were all pre-planned.

Stone has been the chief of Republican dirty tricks for decades and he hasn't lost a step...and now he has money and muscle behind him.

We haven't heard the last from Stone.

groundloop

(11,486 posts)
9. It'd be sweet to see Stone finally pay for his crimes
Sat Feb 20, 2021, 10:04 AM
Feb 2021

There were just too damned many "coincidences" for Jan 6th not to have been pre-planned with full knowledge of TFWHO*. Replacement of top defense officials with ones who'd comply with TFWHO*, the National Guard being held back, Capitol Police being understaffed (an officer who works night shift said he fully expected to work overtime that day yet was told not to come in).

Furthermore, I'm sick and tired of the First Amendment being abused. There should be limits when it comes to knowingly spreading of patently false information - as in TFWHO* and the right wing media claiming voter fraud.








* - The Former White House Occupant (I refuse to say the name)

UpInArms

(51,252 posts)
10. This article reminded me of something
Sat Feb 20, 2021, 10:07 AM
Feb 2021
The Dirty Trickster

At one point on November 22nd, Stone said, he heard from an ally in the building that Gore supporters were trying to remove some ballots from the counting room. “One of my pimply-faced contacts said, ‘Two commissioners have taken two or three hundred ballots to the elevator,’ ” Stone said. “I said, ‘O.K., follow them. Half you guys go on the elevator and half go in the stairs.’ Everyone got sucked up in this. They were trying to keep the doors from being closed. Meanwhile, they were trying to take the rest of the ballots into a back room with no windows. I told our guys to stop them—don’t let them close the door! They are trying to keep the door from being closed. There was a lot of screaming and yelling.” (In fact, the Gore official in the elevator, Joe Geller, was carrying a single sample ballot.) The dual scenes of chaos—both inside and outside the building—prompted the recount officials to stop their work. The recount in Miami was never re-started, depriving Gore of his best chance to catch up in the over-all state tally.


And then on to Qruz ...

Working with about 20 paid GOP staffers or congressional aides and a small fleet of Republican lawyers — including Ted Cruz — Blakeman said the mission was simple.

Stone and Qruz were parts of the Brooks Brothers Riot ...

It was the template for the January 6 insurrection

bucolic_frolic

(42,662 posts)
17. Yeah, we wouldn't want to get at the actual perpetraitors
Sat Feb 20, 2021, 10:30 AM
Feb 2021

and yes i know I misspelled it, but that's what they are. America would at peace if they locked them up for 20 years, but hey you guys do the law the way you see it.

theneworiginal

(302 posts)
23. Yup. Since when does law enforcement NOT interview connected witnesses who appear to be involved?
Sat Feb 20, 2021, 12:07 PM
Feb 2021

How about Cruz, Boebert, Hawley and Trump? This is the DOJ's job, to get the ring leaders. The idea that months are passing without these people even having been interviewed must be a violation of protocols. What happened to the Biden admin. making sure that none of this was influenced by politics, race, or privilege?

This is no different than Bush letting the Bin Laden's leave the country without any law enforcement involvement right after 9/11.

BobTheSubgenius

(11,535 posts)
25. I hope those dbags are completely screwn.
Sat Feb 20, 2021, 01:23 PM
Feb 2021

IMO, anyone involved with either the planning or the execution of the actual insurrection is equally guilty, and should be facing manslaughter charges, if not murder two.

BobTheSubgenius

(11,535 posts)
26. I can't believe this didn't occur to me before.
Sat Feb 20, 2021, 01:25 PM
Feb 2021

If you are planning to murder someone - Pence, Pelosi or whoever was on their list(s) - but someone else ends up dead, through whatever means during their rampage, does that rise to first degree murder?

jmowreader

(50,447 posts)
32. I checked some murder statutes
Sat Feb 20, 2021, 10:27 PM
Feb 2021

This is the DC statute: https://code.dccouncil.us/dc/council/code/titles/22/chapters/21/

§ 22–2101. Murder in the first degree — Purposeful killing; killing while perpetrating certain crimes.
Whoever, being of sound memory and discretion, kills another purposely, either of deliberate and premeditated malice or by means of poison, or in perpetrating or attempting to perpetrate an offense punishable by imprisonment in the penitentiary, or without purpose to do so kills another in perpetrating or in attempting to perpetrate any arson, as defined in § 22-301 or § 22-302, first degree sexual abuse, first degree child sexual abuse, first degree cruelty to children, mayhem, robbery, or kidnaping, or in perpetrating or attempting to perpetrate any housebreaking while armed with or using a dangerous weapon, or in perpetrating or attempting to perpetrate a felony involving a controlled substance, is guilty of murder in the first degree. For purposes of imprisonment following revocation of release authorized by § 24-403.01(b)(7), murder in the first degree is a Class A felony.

This is the federal statute: https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/1111
18 U.S. Code § 1111 - Murder
(a) Murder is the unlawful killing of a human being with malice aforethought. Every murder perpetrated by poison, lying in wait, or any other kind of willful, deliberate, malicious, and premeditated killing; or committed in the perpetration of, or attempt to perpetrate, any arson, escape, murder, kidnapping, treason, espionage, sabotage, aggravated sexual abuse or sexual abuse, child abuse, burglary, or robbery; or perpetrated as part of a pattern or practice of assault or torture against a child or children; or perpetrated from a premeditated design unlawfully and maliciously to effect the death of any human being other than him who is killed, is murder in the first degree.

I see nothing in there about lesser sentences if you kill someone you weren't planning to.

Initech

(99,909 posts)
30. Alex Jones is such a colossal piece of shit.
Sat Feb 20, 2021, 05:26 PM
Feb 2021

The sooner he gets thrown in the slammer and Infowars' assets seized to pay off all the lawsuits, the better!

Response to mahatmakanejeeves (Original post)

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