An attorney for a journalist who was in the U.S. Capitol for 37 minutes on Jan. 6, 2021, and recently charged with four misdemeanors, has questioned why his client is being targeted by the Department of Justice.
This comes after he recently broke a story that contradicts testimony from two Capitol Police officers.
Steven Baker is a Journalist who works for Blaze Media. At the time of the protest, Baker was hosting a Podcast called the Pragmatic Constitutionalist.
“Steve Baker has had some reporting on the pipe bomb story,” Ed Tarpley, one of Baker’s attorneys, explained. “And so Steve Baker is a tremendous investigative journalist.”
Earlier this week, the House Oversight Committee, led by Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-GA), released a report on the events of Jan. 6, and next Tuesday, will hold a hearing on pipe bombs that were left in front of the Democratic and Republican National Committee offices on Jan. 5.
The Washington Examiner asked Tarpley why would Baker be arrested for covering the Jan. 6 riot when other journalists were not.
“Well, I think it probably has to do with the fact that Steve Baker has continued to work as an investigative journalist,” said Tarpley. “And he’s broken some really big stories in the last few months, which, frankly, have embarrassed the Department of Justice, and run counter to the narrative.”
In a video released by Congress, Baker can be seen, circled in red.
He is seen recording videos with other members of the media. In another shot, he’s seen in the corner of the Capitol, looking down to view what he’s captured. It’s evident in the footage released that Baker was not an active participant in the protest.
“For him to be arrested and prosecuted at this late date, three years after the event, is absolutely shameful,” Tarper exclaimed. “It should be condemned by everyone.”
Baker voluntarily turned himself in to the FBI in Dallas on March 1.
According to Tarpley, Baker was one of only five other journalists who were entrusted by former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to view available footage of Jan. 6. It was through this access that Baker was able to break a story that contradicted testimony from two Capitol police officers. Tarpley believes this is the main reason for the charges against him.
“It was a bombshell story,” said Tarpley. “The story about police officers by Dunn and Lazarus, and the fact that their testimony did not match up. In fact, it could not have happened in the way they said it happened.”
David Lazarus was on security detail for Rep. Nancy Pelosi and testified in the Oath Keepers trial. He said he witnessed the interaction between Oath Keepers and Officer Harry Dunn several times. However, according to Baker’s report, citing CCTV footage, the two were in separate buildings. His report contradicts the sworn-in testimony.
Rep. Jim Jordan has taken an interest in the charges against Baker. He wrote a letter dated March 12 to District Attorney Matthew Graves, asking why the Department of Justice is treating Baker like a criminal.
Another question concerns Baker’s First Amendment rights — both freedom of speech and freedom of the press. After he filmed inside the Capitol, he gave several media interviews, including one to a local Washington D.C., TV station.
“I think that they are prosecuting him for the words he said and the things he spoke on his show,” said Tarpley. “And in other interviews. We have seen this throughout the Jan. 6 prosecutions, that the Department of Justice has used the words of people against them.”
The Washington Examiner reached out to the DOJ and Lazarus for comment but has not received a response.
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Tarpley said he hopes for an independent investigation into what really happened on Jan. 6. He said we still haven’t heard why former President Donald Trump‘s request for National Guard troops was never implemented by D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser.
In April, the Supreme Court is expected to hear a case filed on behalf of Freedom Foundation that could impact dozens of January 6 cases, including former president Donald Trump’s.