Roger Stone may be in deep trouble after posting an ominous Instagram photo of the U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson over the holiday weekend.
Berman Jackson scheduled a hearing for Thursday where Stone will have to explain why his release on bail “shouldn’t not be modified or revoked,” in light of the posts, for which he apologized on Monday. Her order Tuesday also indicated the judge may be considering tightening the gag order in the case, which only prohibits him form making comments on the case from the courthouse steps.
Stone on Monday posted an Instagram photo of Berman Jackson that appeared to show a crosshair target in the background.
His caption for the post said that through “legal trickery Deep State hitman Robert Mueller has guaranteed that my upcoming show trial is before Judge Amy Berman Jackson.” He described Berman Jackson as “an Obama appointed Judge who dismissed the Benghazi against Hillary Clinton and incarcerated Paul Manafort prior to his conviction for any crime.”
“#fixisin,” the caption said, while touting his legal defense fund.
Later Monday he took the photo down, and posted a statement saying that it had been “misinterpreted” and that any “inference that this was meant to somehow threaten the Judge or disrespect the court is categorically false.” He also said the crosshairs in the background was actually the logo of the website that posted the original photo. Additionally the lawyers filed with the court a formally apology from Stone on Monday evening.
The episode comes just days after Berman Jackson imposed gag order in the case that allowed Stone to continue to speak publicly about the case, as long as he didn’t do so while entering or exiting the courthouse. Stone had argued against a gag order being imposed in the case and the one that she ended up crafting was notably more lenient than the one she imposed in the Paul Manafort case.
Stone was charged in special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation with making false statements, obstruction and witness tampering. He has pleaded not guilty.
