Blaze Media investigative reporter Steve Baker was arraigned before a federal judge on Friday, charged with crimes allegedly stemming from the events that took place at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. Mr. Baker was not employed at Blaze Media at the time. But shortly after I became editor-in-chief here, I knew I wanted to hire him because of what he’s accomplished since that day.
In 2021, Baker was an independent journalist and online commentator (aka a blogger), intermittently covering various events and issues for his audience, often from a libertarian perspective. At the time, Facebook had about 40,000 readers, more than many declining local newspapers.
Most people ended the day with stories to tell their friends. But Baker constantly remained focused on what’s next. of Story.
Then January 6th happened.
As Baker watched the crowd enter the Capitol, he went into journalistic mode and reported the story to the audience.The video he shot that day ended up being used by the New York Times.and HBO etc.
He is currently charged with four federal misdemeanors. Knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority. Disorderly and destructive conduct in restricted buildings or grounds. Acts that disrupt the order within the National Diet Building. Parades, demonstrations, and picketing inside the Capitol. These are all non-violent crimes, but they are by no means trivial.
The government claims Baker’s reporting was malicious. Thanks to the efforts of Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.) and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), you might be worried without the video. All the footage of him that our team found on CCTV that day, which we requested from Congress and obtained, can be seen here combined with his own footage. You can decide for yourself whether he committed a crime or not.
Steve Baker inside the Capitol on January 6thyoutube.be
He is almost certainly guilty of a journalistic crime, an act that until last week was protected by the First Amendment. In short, Steve Baker didn’t start a riot. he reported. He exercised his First Amendment rights.
It may not be a message that corporate media wants to hear, but they better start listening. This is not about right-wing journalists who were allegedly in a restricted area. Hundreds of other journalists were also in the restricted area that day. And they have not been charged with a crime.
For traditional newspapers and cable news channels to remain silent about Mr. Baker’s case, or to use their role as reporters to denounce him as “just a rebel trying to shield himself from the consequences of his crimes.” The temptation of either is strong. ”
But the time to put partisanship aside is past. It doesn’t matter what Baker believed or didn’t believe about what happened on Election Day 2020. He covered this story without fear or favor. His comments and actions since have made that clear.
And the real story of Steve Baker, the story no one has told yet, that’s what he did. rear January 6th. Most people ended the day with stories to tell their friends. But Baker constantly remained focused on what’s next. of Story.
For many years afterward, Mr. Baker attended and attended almost daily, at his own expense, the January 6th trial of those charged with a number of crimes. he took notes. He got to know almost all of his associates. He questioned and listened carefully to Capitol Police officers, other journalists, federal employees, lawyers, defendants, politicians and their staffs. And because of that, he won the respect of those he met across the spectrum and political spectrum.
Do the rest of the adults at the New York Times and the Washington Post understand that this precedent, if not potentially, is set? surely — Will it be used against them?
The truth is complicated. And it takes serious effort to uncover it. The truth about January 6th is no exception. While highly paid “mainstream” journalists ignored most of the details and reported simple stories with loudly political headlines, Baker steadfastly carried out the job they rejected.
That’s why I happily hired him last year to break down stories ignored by the “entitled” media. But to this day, news outlets like the Associated Press have recently covered Baker. arrestthey refuse to mention his actual work.
Did you know that in one of the most important trials of all on January 6th, two key witnesses who were law enforcement officers at the time appear to have perjured themselves? Did you know that Harry Dunn, the unjustly famous Capitol Police officer who wrote a book full of lies about his experiences that day, is now running for Congress?
In a just world, Steve would win awards for those groundbreaking stories. Instead, he was handcuffed and chained next to a suspected methamphetamine trafficker who had been charged with a felony. The government kept his misdemeanor charges under wraps for years, and prosecutors never took the case to the next stage. rear He was hired by Blaze Media and started reporting for us.They didn’t even tell him the charges was Until he was unnecessarily handcuffed and shackled.
Do the rest of the adults at the New York Times and the Washington Post understand that this precedent, if not potentially, is set? surely — Will it be used against them? If Donald Trump were to die tomorrow and no Republican would ever be elected to the White House again—if we lived forever in a one-party state run by Democrats—then the powers that be would issue a journalistic constitutional amendment. Does anyone really believe they would refrain from abolishing Article 1 rights? Don’t you agree if they can get away with it?
Does anyone who claims to be a “centrist” or “independent” have the courage to report on the narrative that Steve Baker has destroyed and continues to pursue so tenaciously? Someone working in the rapidly declining field of “mainstream” journalism who has any semblance of personal integrity should investigate the facts of this case and make a case for free speech and civil liberties. Do we have the courage to speak out about the dangerous precedents that are being set? press?
You may not want to see it, but you should open your eyes. If the Justice Department successfully indicts the reporters who covered the incident — never mind the reporters’ comments after the fact — no one is safe. IF Stone, a hero of the New Left, was active outside the mainstream media. He exposed government corruption and exposed lies. And he didn’t even have a press pass.
So where are they? Where are the editorial boards of the Washington Post and the New York Times? Where are the watchdogs of Poynter and the Columbia Journalism Review?
I don’t know. But I know this. They may not agree with Baker’s politics, but for their own sake and the sake of our battered and divided republic, they had better start paying attention.
