FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. _ Roger Stone, the so-called "dirty trickster" who was arrested in South Florida Friday morning on obstruction charges, was granted a $250,000 personal bond jointly recommended by federal prosecutors and defense attorneys, and he was expected to be released from custody by the U.S. Marshals in the early afternoon.
Stone, dressed in blue slacks and blue polo shirt, was shackled around the waist, wrist and ankles during his first appearance in Fort Lauderdale federal court before Magistrate Judge Lurana Snow. The courtroom was packed with journalists and spectators, while a throng of TV news cameramen and photographers waited outside the courthouse.
Stone thanked the judge after she granted his bond, which restricts his travel to South Florida, Washington, D.C., New York City, and the eastern area of Virginia.
The judge asked Stone to surrender his passport, and he told her that he does not own a current passport.
Prosecutors with the U.S. attorney's office in South Florida also requested that Stone also undergo a substance abuse screening. The judge ordered one as part of his bond conditions.
Stone's arraignment date must still be set in the federal court in Washington. In the meantime, Stone will be able to stay at his Fort Lauderdale home as he awaits trial on charges of obstruction of justice, witness tampering and making false statements to a congressional committee.
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