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Stone is in the courtroom with his attorneys and it sounds like members of the public and media have been ushered into the courtroom. Prosecutors, however, are not there yet (I'm in the media room watching a live video feed from the courtroom).
UPDATE: Prosecutors have arrived! We should be underway shortly - the hearing is set to begin at 2:30 p.m. EST.
And we're underway!
Stone's defense attorneys want to put him on the stand today so he can explain why he thinks his conditions of release should not be modified.
Stone's attorney arguing there's no risk of flight, no threat to community. The Bail Reform Act is not the issue in this case in terms of revocation of his release. Judge ABJ asks, what if I want to modify the conditions of his release?
Judge ABJ now asking how exactly Stone pursues his livelihood in relation to the partial gag order. His attorney says he gets paid to speak and for his commentary, and does consulting work.
Judge ABJ warns Stone's defense, he will be cross examined. Stone is making his way to the stand now.
Stone is now on the stand. He's being questioned now.
Stone: "I am kicking myself over my own stupidity. But not more than my wife is kicking me." Says he had a lapse in judgment, his Instagram post was an outgrowth of extreme stress of situation. He calls it a "stupid, egregious error."
Stone says he can't rationalize his thinking because he wasn't thinking. "And that's my own fault."
Stone repeats he's under stress, says thoughts of being raped in prison if he's convicted are stressing him out. Says he let the court, his family and his attorneys down. "I can only say I"m sorry...forgive the trespass."
Jackson now pressing Stone on his apology, wants to know why he said he didn't select or review the photo. "How hard was it to come up with a photo that didn't have the crosshairs on it," she asks him.
Stone says the crosshairs are a Celtic occultic symbol, he discovered, after having researched it. When ABJ asks what it means, Stone says, "I don't know your honor, I'm not into the occult."
"I honestly didn't believe that these were crosshairs," Stone says, adding that he believes media misreported the symbol's meaning. But says he took it down immediately so it wouldn't be misinterpreted.
Judge ABJ is holding Stone's feet to the fire. "What was the lapse of judgment you regret?" Stone replies: he shouldn't have made the post.
ABJ wants to know how Stone can be deeply, sincerely sorry when he's been on a media spree talking about his Instagram post. Stone: "I have no rationalization or excuse ... it was just an error."
Prosecutors up now to question Stone. But ABJ interjects almost immediately and wants to know if he saw the image before he posted it. Stone says yes. But he does not know who posted the image. ABJ is asking about his staff. Says he has no staff, just volunteers.
Stone says it's conceivable the image was selected from his phone, which "is used by numerous people." Says he has five or six people (volunteers). ABJ is not happy.
Judge ABJ: "But you saw it and said, okay, I'm going to post this." Stone: "I didn't really recognize the implications... it was an error your honor."
Prosecutor Kravis: have you gone back and asked the five or six people who work for you who did it? Stone: "Nobody will admit to it."
Stone says he was presented with multiple images and picked one. Repeats that "nobody will own up to it," but says he wrote the text that accompanied the image. Stone was asked for the names of his volunteers, named two of them, says he'd have to back and check the others.
Kravis just pressed Stone on his media statements since the Instagram post went up and was taken down. Says other than the InfoWars interview, he does not recall giving statements to CBS and Washington Post.
ABJ wants to know if Stone told InfoWars that all of the attention over his post was another example of the media making him a target. "I want to know if you said that." Stone finally says yes, he said that but spoke out because he thought media had misrepresented his intention.
Stone cites one person who has his Instagram login information. Kravis asks again for the other names. Stone comes up with a third and fourth, but says "I'm sorry, I don't recall the others. It's a revolving situation."
Kravis: you can't remember the names of all the volunteers who work for you and had access to your phone four days ago? Stone: reiterates that he in fact cannot remember.
Stone says he ordered the image cropped to remove the apparent crosshairs, then ordered it taken down because he realized it was a "stupid mistake." Says he will understand the court orders better if given another chance. "This was a screw up , I admit it."
Stone is off the witness stand. His defense attorney called his action "indefensible." ABJ responds: "I agree with you there."
Prosecutor Kravis is urging ABJ to impose a full gag order, says Stone continued to amplify the Instagram post's message in interviews and media statements, which Kravis says constitutes a threat to taint the jury pool.
"The defendant's testimony at this hearing was not credible," Kravis said. His apologies are belied by his testimony - even after he realized the Instagram post was a mistake he continued to make media statements echoing its message (Muellr = deep state hitman, the #fixisin)
Gov. says the result of Stone's conduct was the wide dissemination of the image, which could be reasonably construed as threatening, and introduces a new threat of taint to the jury pool.
Stone's defense urges the court to craft an order that bars him from impugning the government, the court or the special counsel. Judge ABJ is taking a 15-minute break and will rule from the bench when she returns.
And we're back from recess. Judge ABJ is set to rule from the bench on the gag order and his conditions of release.
ABJ: concerned that Stone used his platform to incite others who may feel less constrained, which poses a real risk that others with violent inclinations might be inflamed. Calls his actions "deliberate," and says he couldn't keep his story straight on the stand.
Judge ABJ says Stone's post had a "more sinister message." But notes that he "fully understands the power of words, and the power of symbols. And there's nothing ambiguous about crosshairs."
Judge ABJ: "It's the lawyers, not Mr. Stone, who were appalled. So thank you for the apology, but it rings quite hollow."
Judge ABJ says his release under the current set of conditions without modification does pose a danger to the others and/or the community.
Judge ABJ is modifying the gag order. "No Mr. Stone, I'm not giving you another chance. I have serious doubt whether you learned any lesson at all." He can no longer speak publicly about the investigation or case, but he can still fundraise and proclaim his innocence.
Judge ABJ makes it clear that this is his second chance. "This is not baseball. There will not be a third chance," she says. ABJ is clear that she will detain Stone ahead of trial if he violates the new gag order. And that's a wrap folks.
