Roger Stone, the Proud Boys, & Stone’s network of miscreants— Part 1 (2016)

A new formula: information warfare + physical intimidation

By Jennifer Cohn, 2/11/22

Roger Stone is a corrupt political advisor who specializes in propping up dictators, liars, and cheats, including former President Donald Trump. Stone is not always taken seriously. As political commentator David Frum once remarked, Roger Stone’s best trick was always his upper-class-twit wardrobe. He seemed such a farcical character, such a Klaxon-alarm-from-a-mile-away goofball — who could take him seriously?”

But Stone and his associates — often young, male “protégés” — have for years worked to make American politics a cesspool of corruption, lies, harassment, and fear. Most infamously, Stone claims to have orchestrated the so-called Brooks Brothers riot that stopped the hand recount in Miami Dade, Florida during the 2000 presidential election when Republican George W. Bush led Democrat Al Gore by less than 600 votes.

Beginning in 2016, Stone took his “game” to dangerous new heights by joining forces with InfoWars host Alex Jones (who was already infamous for pummeling his millions of followers with unfounded conspiracy theories) and the Proud Boys, a violent extremist group that Canada has since designated a terrorist organization. This alliance has combined with weaponized social media (also at the hands of Stone and his associates) to mark the beginning of the end of America as I knew it.

I have previously written about Stone, Jones, and the Oath Keepers here. I have also written separately about Stone’s many pre-2016 misdeeds, including the Brooks Brothers riot in 2000 that laid the groundwork for “Stop the Steal” in 2016, 2018, and 2020. You can find that piece here.

After the 2012 election in which President Barack Obama was reelected, Trump began to seriously consider a 2016 presidential run. Sam Nunberg, who has called Stone a “mentor” and “like a second father,” helped Trump weaponize his Twitter account with highly divisive content, including the unfounded claim that Obama was born outside the U.S. In a video posted by the BBC, Nunberg later said, “I want to be clear. I believe Obama was born in the United States. I believe he’s an…