Roger Stone’s Proud Boys “Volunteers” Have Been Defending Him Online After The Judge Entered A Gag Order

WASHINGTON — Questioned in court last week about his recent Instagram post featuring a photo of the judge presiding over his case with what resembled a crosshairs symbol, Roger Stone said under oath that a “volunteer” found the image. He insisted he couldn’t recall who exactly, though, and struggled to identify the five or six people he said were serving as his volunteers at the time.

The names he offered after being pressed by the prosecutor underscored Stone’s ties to the Proud Boys, a far-right, men-only extremist group that describes its members as “Western chauvinist.” The four men identified by Stone are all active on social media, and several continued to post about Stone’s case after US District Judge Amy Berman Jackson imposed a strict gag order Thursday — an order that limits not only what Stone can say in public and online, but what his surrogates and volunteers can say on his behalf.

Stone identified Enrique Tarrio, Tyler Whyte, Jacob Engels, and Rey Perez as his volunteers. Tarrio is chair of the Proud Boys and last week sat behind President Donald Trump during a speech in Miami wearing a T-shirt that said “Roger Stone Did Nothing Wrong!” Whyte leads a Proud Boys chapter in Florida. Engels has been involved in Proud Boys activities, but says he’s a journalist embedded with the group, not a member. Perez identified himself on Facebook as a member of the Proud Boys and was at Stone’s house in Florida to tape a podcast over cigars and baked ziti just before before the Instagram post imbroglio.

View the complete February 24 article by Zoe Tillman on the Buzzfeed website here.