Roger Stone Banned From Social Media After Violating Gag Order

Roger Stone Banned From Social Media After Violating Gag Order

Roger Stone, a political consultant and longtime friend of President Donald Trump, has been banned from social media after violating his gag order, a federal judge ruled Tuesday.

Stone currently faces charges for false statements to Congress, obstruction of an official proceeding, and witness tampering in connection with special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into Russian election interference. He has pleaded not guilty on all charges.

In February, Stone received a gag order which prohibited him from commenting publicly about the case — one which was levied against him after he posted a picture of U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson, who presides over his case, on Instagram that depicted crosshairs over her face.

In the months that followed, Stone has made many posts on both Facebook and Instagram which reference his alleged crimes, frequently including the phrase “Roger Stone did nothing wrong” in captions, hashtags and even on T-shirts.

Stone’s lawyer remained adamant that the posts did not violate the gag order, but he acknowledged that the judge felt differently.

“From the tone of your questions, I get the sense that you are not happy with Mr. Stone in this case,” he said, according to The Associated Press.

Stone has been banned from posting on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter — regardless of subject — Jackson ruled Tuesday. He will not face jail time or be held in criminal contempt for his violation.

Stone’s wife, Nydia Stone, posted on Instagram after the hearing, including the phrase “Roger Stone did nothing wrong” in a caption.

In a clarification issued Wednesday, Jackson said that people associated with Stone are prohibited from posting on his behalf and clarified that he is banned from all social media — not just Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

“Your lawyer had to twist the facts, twist the plain meaning of the order and twist himself into a pretzel to argue these posts didn’t cross the line, and in the end it wasn’t persuasive,” she said, according to BuzzFeed News.

This story has been updated to include information about Nydia Stone’s Instagram post and Jackson’s clarification.

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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.