A federal judge on Tuesday morning ordered longtime political operative Roger Stone to appear in Washington, D.C., courthouse Thursday to explain his now-deleted Instagram post which was critical of her.
On Monday, Stone apologized to U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson, who is presiding over his criminal case, for the post featuring a photo of her next to a logo similar to the crosshairs of a gun.
“Through legal trickery Deep State hitman Robert Mueller has guaranteed that my upcoming show trial is before Judge Amy Berman Jackson, an Obama appointed Judge who dismissed the Benghazi charges again Hillary Clinton and incarcerated Paul Manafort prior to his conviction for any crime,” the post read.
In a statement to ABC, Stone said: “I will be present for the hearing as ordered.”
Earlier Monday, Stone posted a photo of Jackson with what appeared to be crosshairs near her head. He later said that the picture had been “misinterpreted” and that any suggestion he intended to threaten Jackson was “categorically false.”
Last Friday, Berman ordered a limited gag order for Stone as part of special counsel Robert Mueller’s case against the Trump ally. “Counsel for the parties and the witnesses must refrain from making statements to the media or in public settings that pose a substantial likelihood of material prejudice to this case,” Jackson said.
Further, the judge ordered attorneys and potential witnesses to stop commenting to the media when entering and exiting the courthouse where Stone’s trial will be held later this summer or fall.
Stone is charged with lying to Congress, obstruction and witness tampering related to discussions he had during the 2016 election about WikiLeaks.
He has denied guilt.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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