Below is an excerpt from the Daily Caller:
Blaze Media investigative journalist Steve Baker might’ve avoided prosecution if it weren’t for his political views and public statements after the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021, legal analysts told the Daily Caller.
The distinction, according to these analysts, means the case has certain implications about where a journalist’s rights to free speech or free expression begin and end. Rutherford Institute President and attorney John Whitehead said things were “getting very, very dangerous” for journalists, to the point where free speech might be “dead.”
“And that’s why I’m telling journalists, ‘You’ve got to get strong. Don’t give in. Don’t let them muzzle your rights. They want to muzzle you,’” Whitehead said.
The report explains that Baker was working as a freelance journalist on January 6, 2021, and was present when the huge protest was taking place at the U.S. Capitol. He did enter the building that day, and later sold his footage to The New York Times and HBO.
Baker was arrested by the FBI on March 1. He is being accused of ignoring instructions from Capitol Police to “move off the steps” as he stood near a fence in the West Plaza area of the Capitol, the Daily Caller noted.
However, the indictment against Baker appears to be more about what he has said than what he did, as it zones in on comments he made about then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office:
“The only thing I regret is that I didn’t like steal their computers because God knows what I could’ve found on their computers if I’d done that,” Baker said, according to the indictment. “But by the time I got into Pelosi’s office, unfortunately there was some damage done. As I was exiting Pelosi’s office the sign was being busted up into little pieces and people were collecting it as souvenirs.”
“Pelosi’s office was… ehhh. They got Pelosi’s office and you know, it couldn’t happen to a better deserving bitch,” Baker said, according to the indictment.
Bakers attorney, John Whitehead, argued that Baker didn’t damage anything or steal any computers.
“So he has a right to say that … You know, if you’re walking down the street and say, ‘Oh, I wish I had stolen that car earlier.’ Should you get arrested for it? Free speech is dead if you can’t do that. He didn’t do it, did he? So what’s the crime?” Whitehead said.
On Wednesday, Baker announced on social media:
The law relating to credentialed journalists: “Do not trespass on private property to gather news; do not cross police lines at crime scenes; comply with location restrictions and barriers, absent exigent circumstances.”
@TheJusticeDept and @FBI – I will plead guilty to entering a restricted area only if every one of the 60-ish journalists who also did so are also charged with the same crime. Otherwise, you will answer for why you are engaging in selective prosecution against myself and other independent journalists so charged.
“Government officials cannot retaliate against reporters for their reporting or selectively grant access, for example, by denying a press credential.”
“Government officials cannot retaliate against reporters for their reporting or selectively grant access, for example, by denying a press credential.”
— Steve Baker – TPC (@TPC4USA) April 3, 2024
The First Amendment at Stake in J6 Case
Investigative Reporter @TPC4USA describes what it’s like to have the federal government going after him for his reporting at the capitol on January 6th.
Watch LIVE https://t.co/aeKhZCtVbe
Watch more @HumanEvents with @JackPosobiec… pic.twitter.com/W23oLXtm17
— Real America’s Voice (RAV) (@RealAmVoice) April 4, 2024
More info on my Wednesday arraignment.
“‘He’s a journalist with Blaze Media.’ Cooper seemed genuinely surprised to learn that, and I was genuinely surprised that the government had not already informed him of my occupation.”https://t.co/bt6bzJt5NB
— Steve Baker – TPC (@TPC4USA) April 5, 2024
COST FOR WORDShttps://t.co/4ZTHLM2S2d
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) April 5, 2024
★ NEWS ALERT: ‘Absolute Chilling Effect’: Conservative reporter arrested by FBI over Jan 6 stories
The post REPORT: ‘Free Speech Is Dead’: Reporter’s J6 arrest revolves almost entirely around his public statements appeared first on Dennis Michael Lynch.
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