The words former Trump campaign adviser Roger Stone heard just before his arrest early Friday morning: “FBI. Open the door.”
We know this because CNN obtained exclusive footage of FBI agents surrounding Stone’s home, knocking on his door, and eventually arresting him.
Special counsel Robert Mueller charged Stone on Friday with seven counts of obstruction of an official proceeding, witness tampering, and making false statements, including in testimony to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.
Stone’s indictment is one of the biggest moves by the special counsel’s office in months. Mueller’s team had been zeroing in on Stone for some time, focusing on his alleged communications with WikiLeaks and the messages he exchanged with Guccifer 2.0, the online persona that authorities have linked to Russian military officers who sought to hack Democratic emails during the 2016 campaign.
That, plus his longtime association with President Donald Trump and years as an infamous political trickster, makes Stone’s arrest big — and compelling to watch.
What the Stone arrest video shows
“FBI. Open the door.”
— CNN (@CNN) January 25, 2019
Watch exclusive CNN footage of the FBI arresting longtime Trump associate Roger Stone. Stone has been indicted by a grand jury on charges brought by special counsel Robert Mueller. https://t.co/5QHKDB2mfA pic.twitter.com/UeKo7CmXWo
The roughly 90 seconds of video captures the opening moments of the dramatic arrest.
Multiple armed FBI agents surround Stone’s home in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, just before dawn.
One of them knocks on the front door and loudly says, “FBI. Open the door.” There’s a beat of silence, then “FBI. Warrant.” Presumably, that means a warrant for Stone’s arrest.
The next images are of the open front door, where agents are speaking and arresting Stone. They are far from the camera, so it’s unclear what they said to each other. (It’s worth remembering that due to the government shutdown, these FBI officials who arrested Stone are also not getting paid.)
There is no footage of the agents then putting Stone in their car or even taking him away from his home, but we do know he is now under arrest. And should he be found guilty of the charges, it’s possible he’ll remain in official custody for some time.
