Roger Stone says arrest is politically motivated because of his friendship with Trump

Former Trump campaign adviser Roger Stone says he believes he is being “persecuted” because of his friendship with President Donald Trump and believes his arrest Friday morning was “politically motivated.”

FBI agents arrested Stone during a pre-dawn raid at his Fort Lauderdale home. Stone says he would have voluntarily surrendered to federal officials.

Stone was indicted on charges that he lied to the House intelligence panel about conversations he had about the website WikiLeaks and that he obstructed special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation. The indictment says Trump campaign associates sought disclosure of emails the U.S. says were hacked by Russia. It says Stone told campaign officials he had information indicating WikiLeaks had obtained documents damaging to Hillary Clinton’s campaign.

Stone spoke to conspiracy theorist Alex Jones on his InfoWars radio show after his arrest on Friday. He didn’t provide any details to support his accusation that he is being persecuted. He says he’s “going to continue to fight” because he is innocent and intends to fight to “clear my name against these politically motivated charges.”

Stone has been charged with witness tampering, obstruction and lying to Congress. Stone appeared before a judge in federal court in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Friday. The judge agreed to release him on a $250,000 personal surety bond.

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff says the most significant allegation is that a senior campaign official “was directed” in July 2016 to contact Stone about additional WikiLeaks releases. He says his committee will be eager to learn who directed the official.

Stone has denied any wrongdoing. Trump calls the Russia investigation a “witch hunt.”