Longtime political operative Roger Stone said he wants to know why federal agents treated his recent arrest as if they were dealing with a Colombian drug lord or a terrorist mastermind.
Special counsel Robert Mueller’s ongoing investigation produced Mr. Stone’s indictment last week on charges of obstruction, making false statements and witness tampering, but Mr. Stone said a raid Friday on his Fort Lauderdale, Florida, home was purposefully “over the top.”
The 66-year-old told Fox Nation’s Judge Andrew Napolitano that federal authorities are trying to “poison the jury pool.”
“There were 17 vehicles with their lights going, including two armored vehicles in the front yard,” Mr. Stone told the “Liberty File” host Monday. “I live on a canal. They had pulled two amphibious units with frog men up to the back gate. … The entire back of the house was surrounded by agents, all of them brandishing sidearms and assault rifles.”
Mr. Stone’s bail was set at $250,000 by a federal judge. He was also restricted in his traveling to south Florida, D.C., Virginia and New York.
“They want to intimidate me,” Mr. Stone said. “They used fewer men to take down Pablo Escobar or bin Laden.”
Mr. Stone also criticized FBI agents for making his wife, who is not charged with any crimes, stand next to him outside “in her nightgown” without footwear.
Footage of the predawn raid was captured and disseminated by CNN.
• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
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