Blaze Media journalist Steve Baker has been arrested by the FBI for his coverage of the January 6th Capitol riot. Baker denies all accusations of involvement in the riot and maintains that he was simply doing his job as an independent reporter.
Blaze Media Investigative Journalist @TPC4USA has now been taken into FBI custody for his J6 reporting
Watch: pic.twitter.com/OF9WVh26ER
— TheBlaze (@theblaze) March 1, 2024
This follows from an FBI order earlier this week for Baker to turn himself in. Baker told Blaze founder Glenn Beck that the Bureau ordered him to arrive in “shorts and sandals,” which he interpreted as a way to ensure he is “marched out in an orange jumpsuit and leg chains.”
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According to documents filed on February 21st, the United States District Court of Washington, DC has launched an official criminal complaint against Baker, alleging that he is guilty of “Knowingly Entering or Remaining in any Restricted Building or Grounds Without Lawful Authority,” “Disorderly and Disruptive Conduct in a Restricted Building or Grounds,” “Disorderly Conduct in a Capitol Building,” and “Parading, Demonstrating, or Picketing in a Capitol Building.”
BREAKING: @BlazeTV’s investigate journalist Steve Baker has been charged with 4 misdemeanors.
Baker is being prosecuted over his coverage of January 6.
This is an awful day for journalism.
Pray for @TPC4USA as he’s getting ready for his first appearance in court. pic.twitter.com/cobIMLN606
— Breanna Morello (@BreannaMorello) March 1, 2024
Previously, the exact nature of the charges had been kept secret from Baker, which his attorney described as a “really unusual” move.
“It has also been universal that no J6ers are allowed to travel to Washington, DC, which for obvious reasons will have a deleterious impact on my work,” Baker explained. “We also do not know if there will be any other accompanying restrictions or orders: gag order from talking about my case, no social media, limited social media, order to surrender devices and/or firearms. All unknowns.”
At the time of the riot, Baker was working as an independent journalist and part-time musician in the Raleigh area. “That was the place to be, if you’re a journalist, especially an independent,” he said of the Capitol riot.
Baker went to DC on the day of the Congressional Electoral College vote count to cover the “Stop the Steal” rally on the National Mall. “So we’re standing on the other side of the reflection pool from the Capitol and I could see and hear flash bang and smoke,” he explained.
He followed the crowd as they headed toward the Capitol building and began filming for his journalistic content. He spent about half an hour in the Capitol building capturing video, entering roughly 10 minutes after the protestors opened the West Door, and then left around 3:00 p.m.
Baker was then questioned multiple times by the FBI and received threats from the Office of the US Attorney General. He has repeatedly defended himself as a neutral journalist who did not participate in any rioting or destruction.
Baker has long criticized the Jan. 6 Congressional Committee for their biased way of carrying out the interview process. “If you’re going to ask the questions they’re asking, it’s going to further entrench their attitudes against the government,” he said. He has also criticized those who equate all the protestors with the few who rioted “just because they attended a Trump rally.”
Shane Devine is a writer covering politics, economics, and culture for Valuetainment. Follow Shane on X (Twitter).
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