Former Trump campaign adviser Roger Stone publicly advised President Donald Trump to declare “martial law” if he loses the 2020 presidential election. Stone gave this advice during an interview with the conspiracy theory website InfoWars, where he repeated Trump’s baseless theory that the election results would be fraudulent if he did not win.
Stone is a long-time political consultant for the Republican party, infamously convicted on seven felony charges during the Special Counsel investigation during Trump’s impeachment and sentenced to 40 months in federal prison. After having his sentence commuted by Trump in July, Stone has returned to lobbying for the president — most recently in an interview with conspiracy theorist Alex Jones. In their new discussion, Stone said that Trump should consider declaring “martial law” in the event that he loses reelection in November. He also advised invoking the Insurrection Act.
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Stone suggested that, if former Vice President Joe Biden wins the 2020 presidential election, Trump should use his executive power to arrest Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Apple CEO Tim Cook and others he believes have influence over election results. This also included “the Clintons,” and “anybody else who can be proven to be involved in illegal activity.”
On the legal front, Stone suggested that Trump should appoint former Georgia Rep. Bob Barr as a special counsel, with the specific task of forming an Election Day operation using the FBI, federal marshals, and Republican state officials across the country to be prepared to file legal objections and if necessary to physically stand in the way of criminal activity.”
“The ballots in Nevada on election night should be seized by federal marshals and taken from the state,” Stone said as an example. “They are completely corrupted. No votes should be counted from the state of Nevada if that turns out to be the provable case. Send federal marshals to the Clark county board of elections, Mr. President!”
Stone also wanted to see journalists rounded up on charges of “seditious activities,” adding: “They want to play war — this is war. I’m for a legal election. Everything I’m going to be involved with in terms of helping Donald Trump get elected will be perfectly transparent and legal.”
Stone’s commentary escaped the realm of conspiracy theorists last week when it was reported on by the watchdog group MediaMatters. Stone has previously described himself as a political “dirty trickster,” with a career spanning back to the 1970s.
His interviewer, Jones, has pushed conspiracy theories including the baseless and offensive belief that the Sandy Hook shooting in Newtown, Connecticut was a “false flag” event choreographed by the Obama administration in order to steer the gun control debate. He has now been banned by some of the largest social media platforms, including YouTube, for promoting hate speech. So far, there is no evidence to support Stone’s belief that the 2020 presidential election will be rigged against Trump.
