The following is excerpted from an email sent by Roger Stone’s wife Nydia on behalf of the Roger Stone Legal Defense Fund. Though I am not personally involved with raising money for that fund, I decided to share a portion of her letter not directly related to their financial situation because it gives such a powerful perspective on what it’s like for an innocent person to be caught up in a “home invasion”-style raid...
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By now, I'm sure you have heard about the terrifying pre-dawn raid on the house in Ft. Lauderdale where I live with my husband, Roger Stone.
A little before 6 a.m., 29 assault-weapon-wielding FBI agents in full tactical gear and wearing night vision goggles surrounded our home. Because I am hearing-impaired and I was sleeping, I did not hear the commotion when an FBI agent pounded on the door demanding my husband open it, and I did not know he had been handcuffed and taken into custody.
I woke up only when two FBI agents burst into our bedroom and demanded that I get out of bed at gunpoint. I was marched out to the street in front of our house wearing only a night gown and in bare feet. I was instructed to stand next to my husband, who was handcuffed and also barefooted. I am not charged with any crime.
This has to be the most terrifying thing I have ever experienced as FBI agents swarmed into our home after announcing they had a search warrant.
My husband has no previous criminal record, not even a speeding ticket. He is charged and pled not guilty to seven non-violent process crimes. We do not own a gun, and my husband's passport had actually expired. The idea that he is a danger to anyone or a flight risk was disproved hours later when a federal magistrate released him on a surety bond.
The FBI used 29 agents [and] 17 vehicles, including 2 armored vehicles, a helicopter, and 2 amphibious units because our rented home backs onto a canal. Every agent was carrying an AK-47 as well as a sidearm. This is a much larger force than [was] used to capture and kill bin Laden or arrest El Chapo. It must have cost U.S. taxpayers a half a million dollars.
Even more humiliating, for some odd reason a CNN camera crew had arrived at our home only 50 minutes before the FBI strike force and was allowed to film the assault on our home and my husband's arrest. If my husband was considered "dangerous," why was a CNN film crew in position 10 yards from our front door? How convenient that the CNN producer at our home is a former special assistant to FBI director James Comey!
My parents came from Cuba. I can understand how these kinds of police state tactics can happen in a communist country, but it is hard to believe that the FBI Director and acting Attorney General would allow this kind of brutal assault on a U.S. citizen with no prior criminal record and charged only with non-violent process crimes here in the United States.
After the FBI took my husband away, I was allowed to dress under the supervision of a woman FBI agent, who even had to watch me while I used the bathroom. I was not allowed to touch my cell phone even though I could see that my children and grandchildren were calling to see if I was all right. FBI agents tore through every square inch of our home and removed my husband’s computers and iPads. They also took my computer, which means they got many beautiful pictures of my grandchildren.
I wasn't allowed to turn on the television, so I did not see the angry and hateful mob that gathered outside the federal courthouse in Ft. Lauderdale, where I later learned that my husband was placed in hand and foot shackles and held in a holding cell after being fingerprinted and having his mug shot photos taken. The FBI spent seven hours tearing through our house, as well as raiding a storage facility nearby, where they also took a computer and went through financial records that are at least 15 years old.
Although you would never know it from the fake news media, my husband...is not charged with Russian collusion, Wikileaks collaboration or any other crime associated with the 2016 election...Now we are facing a $2 million cost for lawyers In order to fight the bogus charges against my husband, who at 66 years old is facing a potential 45-year prison sentence for crimes he did not commit.
Every day brings death threats [and] late-night anonymous phone calls threatening to kill us, and it's gotten so I can't even go to the grocery store without somebody screaming at me and accusing us of being Russian spys –- which is funny because my parents fled Cuba and the brutal regime of Fidel Castro while my husband's family members were mowed down by Russian tanks in Budapest in 1956.
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There’s little to add to Mrs. Stone’s letter; it speaks for itself. I do particularly like her point that if her husband is so dangerous that he requires a SWAT team to take him into custody, it’s odd that CNN was allowed to be up so close with their cameras. I also appreciate her very appropriate reference to Cuba.
This kind of thing is not supposed to happen in America, but it obviously does, at least to people on the wrong political side of those running the show. In this case the result could have been tragic. If it’s true that Mrs. Stone could not hear instructions spoken by the armed agents, she might have acted in self-defense and ended up dead. Whoever signed off on this raid should be held accountable for prosecutorial misconduct.
On Friday night, Tucker Carlson showed home security video from Roger Stone’s house covering multiple angles of the pre-dawn raid. It shows CNN arriving around 5AM, about an hour before the FBI agents show up. The CNN cameraman immediately sets up his tripod, obviously expecting something, and gets back in his vehicle to wait for FBI agents to arrive.
When agents pull up, the CNN cameraman jumps out of his car, camera on his shoulder. He’s not far from the action, only about 40 feet away. The agents surrounding the home can be seen as heavily armed, carrying assault weapons and sidearms and wearing anti-ballistic armor. They’re using red-dot sights and tactical flashlights. They look ready to fire. One has a battering ram.
A camera at the back of the house captures one of the boats referred to by Mrs. Stone. It carries at least two agents, who shine a floodlight into the home.
It’s like something out of a movie. From the look of this, you’d think Stone was a drug lord, or maybe a serial killer.
We’re being told that all this was “by the book.” I don’t accept that. If such action against a non-violent 66-year-old man with absolutely no record of prior offenses can be considered business as usual by the FBI, then we are no longer in the America we used to know.
https://video.foxnews.com/v/6000208376001/#sp=show-clips
Comments 1-25 of 388
Carol Miller
03/25/2019 12:30 PM
Thanks for Sharing this. Someone needs to get to the bottom of who ordered this & who alerted CNN. This is horrific
Jeff McMurtrey
02/25/2019 08:50 PM
It is ridiculous and outrageous what happened to Mr. and Mrs Stone. We, the people, want this farce of an investigation against duly elected President Trump to stop, immediately and we want the appropriate people, the Clintons, the Obamas, James Comey, Mr. McCabe and Mr. Mueller to be brought up on charges for conspiring against the United States of America.
Robert F Murphy
02/25/2019 09:13 AM
I'd say this is another case of : OVERKILL!!
Mary Briden
02/24/2019 06:11 PM
Absolutely frightening,
disgusting and despicable. Never thought this would be happening in the U.S.A.
John Davis
02/24/2019 09:03 AM
Totally unacceptable in America!
Linda Flynn
02/24/2019 08:38 AM
Dear Governor Huckabee, Thank you for sharing Mrs. Stone's partial letter. It was well written, informative and direct. The details on the raid are nothing less than SHOCKING. I had many reactions and quite a few questions, beginning with (1) who gave the orderd for that raid? (2) is there a manual we can get hold if that details "standard operating procedure" for a first-time, non-violent suspect, accused of non-violent crime (3) can you help uncover the actual cost if such a raid? (4) is "public humiliation (refusing to allow either Mr. or Mrs. Stone to dress before going outside/ standing over Jrs. Stone while she used the restroom - they could gave easily checked for weapons, phones, tv's etc. before allowing her into the bathroom) and cruelty (refusing to allow either of them to put on shoes or a bathrobe prior to taking them outside, shackling and cuffing an elderly non-violent man accused of - what? ). (5) what were the actual charges that required a dawn raid, surrounding their home with 27 heavily armed agents, two armored vehicles, a helicopter and other uses of excessive force, rather than just ask him to surrender, then show the couple the search warrant, take the keys and execute the search?? (6) is there any way to prove CNN was given a call so they could be on site to capture the "perp walk moment and gloat," claiming to be just more brilliant (seriously, they are all lazy journalists - they do not ask questions or seek the truth. (7) Remember Waco and the Branch Dividians, shot, burned to death - murdered by an out-of-control FBI under Janet Reno and the Clinton administration, when all that needed was to wait for David Koresh to come into town, as he frequently did, then arrest him in a store? Or, wait until others were out of the compound to save the innocent (which, arguably, David Koresh was at that time? (8) if look for Russian collusion in the 2016 election was the mandate, why have they refused to investigate the other side? Unless, of course it is because the top people at the FBI, along with the top people at the CIA, Justice Department and the State Department are all part if a criminal conspiracy cover up. Can you please help us find some honest investigative reporters who will bulldog their way to the truth, then tell us, please, because the swamp smells worse than ever and is underwater at this point. The progressive Democrats are in a deep, dark place and likely - given their refusal to be open or cooperative - destroying evidence daily. We must hurry.
Jennifer A. Abercrombie
02/24/2019 01:02 AM
This is the most ridiculous bunch of c—p I have ever seen!! The left is losing their minds!!! ??
Rose Bollig
02/23/2019 09:20 PM
I find this whole thing APPALLING....WHAT IN THE WORLD have we come to? A police state?? Why was CNN notified to even come with their cameras?? Why did it take so many FBI agents to arrest one person? This act right here should be PROOF that our DOJ, FBI and any other so called entities are corrupt. What utter BS....
Jayne Bloesch
02/23/2019 05:47 PM
The Dems really have taken over OUR COUNTRY. THE EVIL IS IN THE AIR. The DOJ, FBI, IRS AND CIA are in the devil's pocket.
What judge signed off on this attack? All to get at PRESIDENT TRUMP.
DISGUSTING!
Georgia Weaver
02/23/2019 04:52 PM
I am shocked and appalled that this happened in the United State of America. May God help us all.
Richard Monson
02/23/2019 04:19 PM
Find out who authorized this action and prosecute the bastards.
Adam Morze
02/23/2019 04:12 PM
The cover and hypocrisy is over . The US is a police state . Democratic what a joke.
Vicki Pounders
02/23/2019 01:26 PM
I too, am appalled by the excessive force used to arrest your husband. This is not the America that I was brought up in. My son-in-laws grandparents fled Cuba as well. I can hardly believe this took place here BUT it did. Praying for you and your family that God will prevail in this fight and protect you.
Carolyn Kay Lucas
02/23/2019 01:14 PM
I was so angered by this travesty against the Stones that I contributed to their legal defense. Even saying this makes me wonder if I'm now on a Democrat's "hit list" somewhere and if a S.W.A.T. team will suddenly appear at my door for some contrived reason. I hope the Stones have accumulated millions of dollars to fight this political assassination, third-world dictator country tactic. It does not belong in the U.S.A.
Sara Carpenter
02/23/2019 01:05 PM
This so frightening and shocking to read! What is happening in America that this is allowed?? This was done obvious ly for political reasons and intimidation! It's sickening and dispicible!
Sara Carpenter
02/23/2019 01:03 PM
This so frightening and shocking to read! What is happening in America that this is allowed?? This was done obvious ly for political reasons and intimidation! It's sickening and dispicible!
William R Taylor
02/19/2019 09:31 AM
Mike,
While the FBI’s arrest of Mr Stone used a lot of resources, it was done safely. Please be careful yourself in using excessively forceful words to talk about the FBI because this may make future arrests more difficult and unsafe for our men and women in law enforcement.
Chris Harrison
02/18/2019 01:13 AM
How in Hades does a search warrant and subsequent take-down of this magnitude get leaked to a news outlet (haha, I know CNN isn't news, but humor me)???? Even more incredibly, how does the leaker of such information not end up in handcuffs the very next day?????
LYNN A Thompson
02/16/2019 06:59 PM
I find it so disgusting that this was handled in this matter. I can't believe that anyone would think it was o.k. to treat this man that way, not to mention his wife. I don't care what political side a person is on......we should all be concerned. FBI is out of control.
Martin A.Welt,PhD
02/16/2019 11:37 AM
An un-called for nightmare for the Stone family, but unfortunately it is not a unique expeience. This demonstartes that our Constitutional right to equal justice under the law is a joke, and cries out for a remedy. In fact, you might say that our legal and non-justice system as now practiced may be the largest unpunished criminal enterprise in the United States. The Constution does not require that Judges be lawyers and it would be a good idea to have term limits for judges. With super computers able to compare previous comparable civil and criminal matters that had been adjudicated and decisions renderd by the Court, judicial prejudice and lawyer familiarity would be eliminated.
Virginia Crawford
02/16/2019 11:29 AM
This is an absolute outrage, but sadly what can be done? We the people need to take to the streets in droves and for a very long time. In the meantime the press makes money on both sides with editorial comments. Our only comfort is in knowing God is in control.
Christine Marriott
02/14/2019 07:53 PM
I have been waiting for Justice. It only took 8 years for that obamantion administration to corrupt most of our Federal Departments from the FBI to the IRS. When will the people own the government again? This is a scary time. Evil has been widespread across many mediums and we need God to help our nation. This is what is mounted against us: Corrupt US Federal Departments, Hollyweird, Main Stream Media (Fake Nasty News), Voter Fraud (illegal alien votes), FAKE POLLS (that scare our representatives into submission), the Evil heads of the Democrat party, Fake Republicans (McCain, Romney, Kasich, Corker, Flake to name a few) Liberal activist courts. Its is by God's Will and Blessings that we won the Presidency.
Corruption at the highest levels is evident to those with open minds and common sense. What is happening to those who were complicit in the Uranium One deal? What is happening to those in the government who used their positions to sell us out????? We want JUSTICE. We need representatives of Truth. We need representative with half a brain and a heart to see through the tricks of the New World Order. We need them to be brave when a FAKE POLL comes out. Stick with the heart and throw caution to the wind. Be not afraid of those demon-c-Rats they stink to high heaven there is no truth in them they are filled with hypocrisy and lies.. We NEED TO DRAIN THE SWAMP but for two years now they have been controlling and creating FAKE investigations against our God Blessed President. When will they be made to PAY for their CRIMES WHEN????????????
Rose Bronikowski
02/13/2019 11:41 PM
It just proves what many of us have suspected. The FBI has turned into the KGB. After all, the fake news media has been PRAVDA for quite some time now.
Joyce Harris
02/13/2019 11:24 PM
This is so horrifying and makes me so angry. On top of that, with the way members of the left and/or apparently FBI agents seem to think they can do whatever and get away with it, it's really hard to hope for justice over this. General Flynn also had his life seriously disrupted. Maybe they can both be pardoned, but their astronomical legal fees on top of the trauma of being treated like this, may not ever be recoverable. And the perpetrators of this abuse will probably just go on their merry ways with not even a slap on the wrist.
MARIE DAHL
02/13/2019 06:27 PM
My husband is retired from the FBI (40 yrs) He's probably rolling over in his grave and my son who is also retired from the FBI is ashaed to say he ever worked for them. Smething needs to be done about these people. They should be on the list to go to GITMO and face the military tribunals and then hung for being traitors to our country. They must be communists.