FBI and DOJ to Arrest Conservative Journalist Steve Baker Over January 6 Related Charges: 'Outrageous'
The FBI and Department of Justice (DOJ) are charging Conservative journalist Steve Baker for his alleged involvement in the January 6 Capitol riots. The DOJ has increased its efforts and broadened its jurisdiction to prosecute those who may have been involved in the events that transpired in Washington, D.C., on January 6, 2021. Baker, a conservative writer for The Blaze, is the latest to feel the arm of the law.
Barker's lawyer informed him that the DOJ would be charging him "for my journalistic efforts on #Jan6." Although Baker is yet to surrender to police, receiving a Christmas reprieve, he stated in a post on X that he is unsure of the full scope of the charges, per MRCTV.
Along with roughly sixty other journalists, he claimed to have entered the Capitol that day, although he 'did no damage or parading or violence.' In an interview with Sara Gonzalez of The Blaze, Baker stated that he felt the DOJ under President Joe Biden wanted him 'off of this case,' per The Post Millenial. Before the recent release of the January 6 tapes, Baker was among the few reporters who had access to videos that others were unaware of. “They are not charging the mainstream media journalists that also followed the story,” Baker told Gonzalez. “I’m ready for the fight.”
A wealth of self-incriminating material was produced by the Trump supporters who stormed the U.S. Capitol in January, meticulously recording their words and deeds in social media postings and recordings. Now, some of the photographers in the crowd are saying they weren't there to take part in a violent uprising; rather, they were there only to document history for their publications, per Associated Press. In other words, as per this report, many of those facing legal charges for their role in Jan. 6 claimed they were journalists.
There have also been trials and arrests of other journalists. Owen Shroyer of Info Wars was on the Capitol grounds that day, and he completed a prison term of over two months. After documenting the event, far-left John Sullivan was also convicted of rioting and obstruction of justice, even though he claimed he only recorded and did not participate.
The incident was described on X as an 'outrageous retaliation on the part of the federal government against a journalist' by Matthew Peterson, editor-in-chief of Blaze Media. “[Baker] was an independent journalist on J6; he’s now investigating the events of that day for The Blaze. We must all rally and end this totalitarian madness,” he said. “We recently published evidence that Capital Police officers committed perjury in the Oath Keepers trial and this is the DOJ’s response,” Peterson wrote. “When [Baker] got word he was being charged, he was in DC working on our investigation of the J6 footage."
Based on the previously mentioned Associated Press assessment of court records in almost 400 federal cases, at least eight suspects involved in the Jan. 6 disturbance have identified themselves as journalists. Five individuals, including a police officer, lost their lives as a result of the uprising, while hundreds more were injured. Reporters and photographers with credentials to cover Congress were being physically assaulted and threatened by some protesters as they attempted to document the chaos that day.
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