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Blaze News’ Steve Baker says FBI has arrest warrant over his J6 reporting – ‘self-surrender’ set for Friday

February 28, 2024 | | Print Article

Investigative journalist Steve Baker revealed that he has been directed by the FBI to turn himself in on Friday and even told what to wear when he does.

While the reporter for The Blaze faced a pending arrest in December that he said was related to his “journalistic efforts” in covering the January 6, 2021 events in Washington, D.C., Baker said he doesn’t know what the specific charges are for which he is self-surrendering.

Baker reported that he was instructed to arrive at the FBI field office at 7 a.m. before he is transported to the Dallas courthouse where he can meet with his attorneys.

The journalist also shared the agency’s directions that he should arrive wearing “shorts and sandals,” predicting that this was to give him the “personal humiliation treatment.”

He told Blaze News Tuesday evening that this was likely so they could “place him in an orange jumpsuit, handcuff him, and do the ‘prisoner transport routine.'”

“They didn’t have to go this route,” Baker told Blaze News. “We have been told that my charges are only misdemeanors. And my attorneys have been assured that this will be an ‘in and out’ affair with ‘no intention’ to detain me. But rather than issuing a simple order to appear, they went the ‘arrest warrant’ route.”

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Baker noted that the charges are yet unknown and that his attorneys have not been informed by the agency “because they believe Baker will post them on social media.”

Baker’s Dallas attorney, James Lee Bright, told Blaze News this was a “really unusual” move.

“Baker also said his legal team was told there was no request to the court for detention, no need for bail, and the expectation is that he’ll be released after the proceedings. Bright told Blaze News that he anticipates Friday’s hearing to be simple,” the outlet reported.

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The journalist noted that he and his legal team are unaware of any “pretrial travel restrictions, although that has been the norm for J6 defendants — even for misdemeanor defendants.”

“It has also been universal that no J6ers are allowed to travel to Washington, D.C., which for obvious reasons will have a deleterious impact on my work. We also do not know if there will be any other accompanying restrictions or orders: gag order from talking about my case, no social media, limited social media, order to surrender devices and/or firearms,” Baker said. “All unknowns.”

His attorney said he was “disturbed” by the latest move given that his client has been “in full compliance” all along.

The federal government “three-plus years later going after people who were legitimate functioning journalists that day” undoubtedly is meant to have an “absolute chilling effect,” his attorney told Blaze News.

In a statement, Blaze Media editor-in-chief Matthew Peterson said “The federal government’s treatment of Steve Baker is outrageous.”

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“I’m not a depressive person, but I’m not happy about this,” Baker told the outlet. “I have prayed, ‘Lord, let this cup pass from me,’ but apparently it’s not going to.”

U.S. Rep. Barry Loudermilk was among many others questioning why the Biden Justice Department is targeting Baker.

“The DOJ has no suspects in either the RNC/DNC pipe bomb nor gallows investigation, but they are targeting an independent journalist who simply documented what he witnessed on January 6,” the Georgia Republican posted in response to Baker’s message on X.

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The sentiment was echoed by others on the platform.

Frieda Powers
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