Trump confidant ripped for urging martial law if they lose the election: 'Roger Stone is a racist who hates democracy'
Republican operative Roger Stone (Facebook)

Convicted felon Roger Stone trended on Twitter on Saturday evening as his longtime friend Donald Trump flew to Nevada for a controversial campaign rally.

Stone, an infamous dirty-trickster political operative, has long advised Trump. The president commuted Stone's 40-month prison sentence after he was convicted of obstruction of justice, making false statements, and witness tampering.

Stone was in the news after shocking comments he made on conspiracy theorist Alex Jones' Infowars network that were reported by the watchdog group Media Matters for America (MMFA).

"Roger Stone is making baseless accusations of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election and is urging Donald Trump to consider several draconian measures to stay in power, including having federal authorities seize ballots in Nevada, having FBI agents and Republican state officials “physically” block voting under the pretext of preventing voter fraud, using martial law or the Insurrection Act to carry out widespread arrests, and nationalizing state police forces," MMFA reported. "Stone’s efforts are now underway, and his aim appears to be to spread conspiracy theories about voter fraud and call for actions that would likely intimidate potential Joe Biden voters."

"During his September 10 appearance on The Alex Jones Show, Stone declared that the only legitimate outcome to the 2020 election would be a Trump victory. He made this assertion on the basis of his entirely unfounded claim that early voting has been marred by widespread voter fraud," MMFA noted. "Stone also urged Trump to consider declaring 'martial law' or invoking the Insurrection Act and then using his powers to arrest Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Apple CEO Tim Cook, 'the Clintons' and 'anybody else who can be proven to be involved in illegal activity.'”

The suggestions by Stone are noteworthy because of his role in the so-called "Brooks Brothers Riot" that successfully halted the counting of ballots in Miami during Florida's 2000 recount.

Stone discussed leading the effort for a 2008 profile in The New Yorker by Jeffrey Toobin that was titled, "The Dirty Trickster."

"I had walkie-talkies and cell phones, and I was in touch with our people in the building," Stone said, describing how he managed the riot from a Winnebago. "Our whole idea was to shut the recount down. That was why we were there. We had the frequency to the Democrats’ walkie-talkies and were listening to their communications, but they were so disorganized that we didn’t learn much that was useful.”

"The recount in Miami was never re-started, depriving Gore of his best chance to catch up in the over-all state tally," Toobin noted.

This generated a great deal of commentary on Twitter, including from Watergate figure John Dean, who has known Stone since the Nixon administration.

"Roger Stone wants Trump to declare himself America’s dictator. Roger is saying what many Republicans crave — a Trump dictatorship. Roger will be one of those provoking violence when Trump loses. Indeed, he will be leading the fruitcake’s protest parade," Dean tweeted.

Here's some of what others were saying about Stone:

2020 Election