Former Trump adviser Roger Stone has apologised for posting a photo of a judge presiding over his criminal trial with what appeared to be crosshairs beside her head.
The photo of Amy Berman Jackson was posted on political consultant Mr Stone's Instagram page and has since been deleted.
He also captioned the grainy image, showing a close up of her face with crosshairs in the top left, with a comment stating she had been appointed by "legal trickery".
Alongside that there was a link to a website where the longtime Donald Trump confidant is fundraising for legal fees to help him cover the costs in his case.
Stone, in a statement posted to Instagram, said: "A photo of Judge Jackson posted on my Instagram has been misinterpreted. This was a random photo taken from the Internet.
"Any inference that this was meant to somehow threaten the Judge or disrespect court is categorically false."
In addition to this an attorney for Stone said, in a filing in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, Stone "apologises to the Court for the improper photograph and comment" and said "Mr. Stone recognises the impropriety and had it removed."
The judge also issued a gag order on Friday that prohibits lawyers involved in the case from speaking with the media.
It also prohibits other participants, such as Stone himself, from making statements that may affect the case when they are near the courthouse.
Stone has been charged with making false statements to Congress, obstruction and witness tampering, as part of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian collusion in the 2016 US election.
He has pleaded not guilty to all the charges against him.
