“Ion Sancho: Roger Stone's dirty tricks helped sway 2000 Florida recount” ⁦ @Ionsancho1⁩ 1/ https://www.tallahassee.com/story/opinion/2019/02/03/ion-sancho-roger-stones-dirty-tricks-helped-sway-2000-florida-recount/2742713002/

2/ “On Nov. 21, 2000, the Florida Supreme Court had ruled that the recounts set forth under Florida law, Chapter 102.166(4)(d) F.S., could be extended until Nov. 26. The Republican strategy was to shut the recount down entirely.”

3/ “In the words of Stone, ‘The idea we were putting out there was that this was a left-wing power grab by Gore, the same way Fidel Castro did it in Cuba.’”

4/ “The fact that the Gore campaign was following Florida’s law on recounts was completely ignored.”

5/ “Dade County, Florida’s largest county and home to the largest number of Democratic voters, began the recount on Nov. 22.“

“But when election staff arrived, they found thousands of people, mostly Bush supporters, protesting the recount outside. Radio Mambi, a vehemently anti-Castro outlet, was broadcasting live at the scene, asking listeners to join the protest.” 6/

“A Bush command center had been set up in a Winnebago across the street, and Stone, armed with walkie-talkies, claimed to be in communication with demonstrators in the building outside the 18th floor Supervisor of Elections Office.” 7/

“There, a dozen or more well-dressed young white protesters were yelling & pounding on the doors in what came to be known as the Brooks Brothers Riot.“ 8/

“Through IRS filings made belatedly by the Bush campaign, some $13.8 million was spent in its ‘stop the recount’ efforts.“ 9/

“These same documents show the Brooks Brothers rioters were Republican staffers from Washington, D.C., flown in and out of Florida on private jets by companies such as Enron and Halliburton, and given free hotel rooms. “ 10/

“Their actions succeeded in preventing the legal and court-ordered procedures, which might have provided an accurate result for the election. Lies, physical intimidation — the darker arts of political persuasion employed by Stone and his cronies — had proven successful.” 11/

“For the first time in U.S. history, a state had been barred from completing its presidential election.” 12/