Investigative journalist and Blaze Media correspondent Steve Baker recently detailed his experience in custody after being arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) over his reporting on the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol protests.
Baker has been temporarily released from jail. The investigative journalist recently spoke with conservative commentator Glenn Beck about his experience.
“I thought I was mentally and emotionally prepared for this because I’ve followed too many of these cases to not have been,” Baker told Beck.
“I’ve seen too many of these guys — even misdemeanor defendants, even misdemeanor independent journalists — marched before a magistrate in leg chains and the orange jumpsuit, so I thought I was ready for it until they put the leg chains on,” he added.
"They actually demanded that I turn myself…they put me in shackles."
The FBI arrested investigative reporter Steve Baker over his coverage of January 6th. The journalist recounted his story. @TPC4USA @CarlHigbie pic.twitter.com/Lkn0xZMLFe
— NEWSMAX (@NEWSMAX) March 5, 2024
Baker detailed his harrowing experience in custody as he was placed “in a cage with a meth dealer.” He said he was tried on the same day as a “felony defendant,” who unlike him, wasn’t “guarded by U.S. Marshals with leg chains on.”
Baker’s attorney, James Lee Bright, pointed out that in all of the years he’s worked in the legal profession, he’s “almost never” encountered an individual charged with a misdemeanor that was treated in such a way.
The investigative journalist argued that the FBI fabricated charges against him to create “a narrative for prosecution.”
The Department of Justice (DOJ) charged Baker with four counts: “Knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority,” “Disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or ground,” “Disorderly conduct in a Capitol building” and “Parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building.”
Following Baker’s arrest, “the speaker of the House released 5,000 hours of videotape, much of it centering around [Steve], showing that [he wasn’t] parading or picketing or being disorderly at all,” Beck said.
“So, how do they make that charge,” Beck asked.
In response, Baker said the DOJ is deliberately overcharging to “scare [him] into a quick plea deal.”
Citing the first charge, Baker said, “Technically yes, I went in the building, so, if that is a crime, then it is a crime.”
“If that’s a crime, then the crime has to be punished equally,” Beck said. “So, the New York Times, the Washington Post — every single journalist would have to be charged with that crime, right?”
