Staunch Trump ally Roger Stone was allegedly a part of an encrypted group chat that included the leaders of both the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers — both of which are ultra far-Right, Q-Anon adhering, white supremacy, Trump-supporting hate groups — in the weeks and months leading up to the infamous January 6th Capitol insurrection and, according to brutal new reporting, Congress now has those messages.
Vice reports that the encrypted group chat was named F.O.S, short for “Friends of Stone,” and the January 6th House Select Committee that’s currently investigating the violent Capitol siege specifically mentioned the communications during yesterday’s public hearing that promised to expose the ties between now ex-President Donald Trump and these violent, Right-wing extremist groups.
The existence of the F.O.S. group chat was first reported on by the New York Times back in May, with as many as 47 members in the chat, according to the report. The encrypted group chat not only featured participation by Proud Boy chairman Enrique Tarrio and Oath Keeper leader Stewart Rhodes, but also Infowars host Owen Shroyer and “Stop the Steal” organizer Ali Alexander. As it stands, information has not been made available pertaining to when, exactly, the “Friends of Stone” group chat was created.
Vice reports on the matter, following yesterday’s bombshell hearing:
Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin, who led Tuesday’s hearing, said the committee had obtained the chats but divulged little additional information as to their contents. Raskin did say that Stone used that chat to communicate ‘regularly’ with Rhodes and Tarrio, and that it focused on ‘various pro-Trump events in November and December of 2020, as well as Jan. 6.’ Raskin also offered one example where Rhodes appeared to urge others to swarm state capitols in the event they couldn’t travel to D.C.
The encrypted chat is more evidence of potential coordination between the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers ahead of Jan 6. and raises more questions about Stone’s role in the lead-up to the Capitol riot. Oath Keepers, including two who are facing seditious conspiracy charges, were acting as Stone’s security detail that day.
Evidence of a pre-existing relationship between Tarrio and Rhodes—both of whom are now also facing seditious conspiracy charges—helps explain a mysterious meeting between the two men and other far-right activists in an underground parking garage in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 5.
In April, court documents revealed that Florida Oath Keeper Kelly Meggs and Rhodes spent days discussing security plans for Trump allies like Stone via text. They also revealed that Meggs had a direct line to Tarrio. (He attempted to call him after learning of his misdemeanor arrest on Jan. 4 for crimes committed during a previous rally.)”
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While members of the House Select Committee have not yet exposed a clear line of communication directly between Donald Trump and these Right-wing extremist hate groups, it’s becoming more and more clear with each passing day that Trump’s inner circle is little more than a web of deceit, hatred, corruption, scandal, and lies.
Read the full report from Vice here.
Featured image via screen capture
