Six far-right militia members who guarded Trump ally Roger Stone ‘entered US Capitol during riots’
The six belong to Oath Keepers, a far-right anti-government militia group who were reportedly providing security to Roger Stone on the day of and prior to the Capitol insurrection
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Your support makes all the difference.At least six people seen providing security to Roger Stone, an ally of the former president Donald Trump, later breached the Capitol during the 6 January insurrection, according to US media reports.
Mr Stone was in Washington DC on both the 5 and 6 January and made several public appearances – near the Supreme Court and later by the White House – where he was seen with five individuals providing him security. A sixth individual was seen driving him around in a golf cart that afternoon.
According to reports by CNN and the New York Times, the six men are associated with the far-right militia group the Oath Keepers, described by the Anti-Defamation League as one of the largest organisations of “anti-government extremists” in the US.
Video footage reviewed by the NYT reportedly shows all six of the men who accompanied Mr Stone inside the Capitol building after it was breached by rioters on 6 January, with some of them meeting other Oath Keepers who have since been charged. None of the six men have themselves been charged.
Mr Stone said in a statement that he “saw no evidence whatsoever of illegal activity by any members” of the Oath Keepers, and that if there was proof “they should be prosecuted”.
The footage of Mr Stone outside Willard InterContinental hotel in Washington surrounded by the Oath Keepers members had first surfaced in an investigation by ABC News.
“I had no advance knowledge of the riot at the Capitol,” Mr Stone told ABC News at the time. “I could not even tell you the names of those who volunteered to provide security for me, required because of the many threats against me and my family.”
Mr Stone, an ally of the former president, was convicted in 2019 for obstructing a federal investigation, witness tampering and lying to Congress. He was sentenced to 40 months in prison, a sentence that was later commuted by Mr Trump in July 2020.
Mr Trump, who was impeached by the House of Representatives on a charge of inciting the Capitol riot, was acquitted by the Senate on Saturday.
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