President Joe Biden’s Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) arrested Steve Baker, an investigative journalist for Blaze News, after he self-surrendered at the FBI’s field office in Dallas on Friday. Baker has been charged over his reporting on the January 6, 2021, Capitol Hill protest.
According to Blaze News, Baker has been investigating and reporting on the Capitol Hill protest for the past three years, often sharing information that contradicts claims made by the Capitol Police, the Biden administration, and Democrat lawmakers.
Despite the FBI instructing the journalist to arrive in “shorts and sandals” in order to make it easier for the FBI to prepare him for a “humiliation” perpetrator walk, Baker arrived at the field office in a suit and tie.
Sharing a video of Baker’s arrest on Friday, Baker’s attorney, James Lee Bright, wrote, “This is my client, an American journalist @TPC4USA from @theblaze being arrested by the FBI for his coverage of J6. Research his works. He is uncovering many uncomfortable truths.”
The video shows federal authorities walking Baker in handcuffs to a car to be transported to the federal courthouse in Dallas.
According to Blaze News, BlazeTv contributor Jill Savage said Baker was “able to wear his dress clothes but had shackles on his wrists and ankles.” Savage told Blaze News that Baker’s next hearing is currently scheduled in Washington, D.C., on March 14.
The criminal charges against Baker include “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.”
READ MORE: Biden’s FBI demands journalist surrender over Jan 6 reporting: Report
Friday’s arrest of an American journalist quickly drew outrage from prominent conservatives. “I guess now they’re arresting journalists to preserve democracy or something???” Donald Trump Jr. tweeted. Meanwhile, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene warned, “Free Press is dead in America when the government jails journalists who refuse to report the regime’s political agenda and lies.”
In response to the FBI’s arrest of an American journalist, Glenn Beck, conservative commentator and founder of Blaze Media, released a statement, saying, “The timing of the FBI’s actions is peculiar, to say the least. It serves as a stark reminder of the challenges we face in our pursuit of truth. It demonstrates that those in positions of power are quick to react when confronted with narratives that deviate even slightly from their carefully scripted versions of events.”
In an update posted on social media, Blaze News reported that Baker was released Friday afternoon from the federal courthouse in Dallas.
