The arrest and persecution of an investigative journalist and other January 6 defendants is now reportedly part of a Congressional investigation.
The House Judiciary Committee is turning attention to the U.S. Department of Justice’s arrest of The Blaze journalist Steve Baker who covered the events that unfolded Jan. 6, 2021, at the U.S. Capitol.
Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan fired off a blistering letter to Matthew Graves, U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, on Tuesday, calling out the “selective prosecution” of Baker, who was arrested on March 1, “as well as the Department’s commitments to the First Amendment rights of journalists.”
NEW: @JudiciaryGOP is launching and investigation into the DOJ’s targeting of journalist Steve Baker (@theblaze’s @TPC4USA) and other J6 defendants.
READ THE LETTER from @Jim_Jordan pic.twitter.com/JViWJqtNS4
— Jenna Ellis (@JennaEllisEsq) March 12, 2024
Jordan brought up his “serious concerns” over the DOJ’s handling of Baker and others, citing the reporter’s attorney who said other journalists in the Capitol on Jan. 6 have never been charged while Baker has been singled out after being “critical of the Department’s handling of the January 6 investigations and prosecutions.”
Baker’s attorney noted that the DOJ “is not allowed to decide what press coverage it likes and what press coverage offends it and take prosecutorial action based on those judgments.”
“Beyond charging Mr. Baker, it appears that the Department deviated from practice and formally arrested Mr. Baker when he voluntarily surrendered,” Jordan charged in his letter, going on to recount how, despite the DOJ’s negotiations with Baker’s attorney on his appearance in court, and assurances that he would not be detained before a trial, the department reneged.
The DOJ “subjected him to formal arrest — that is, the FBI fingerprinted, photographed, handcuffed, and placed Mr. Baker in the back of an FBI vehicle, transported him to the courthouse, and brought him before the magistrate judge in a ‘belly chain, box cuffs, and leg shackles,'” the letter states.
Blaze News’ Steve Baker says FBI has arrest warrant over his J6 reporting – ‘self-surrender’ set for Friday https://t.co/wiQztkTnCW via @BIZPACReview
— BPR based (@DumpstrFireNews) February 28, 2024
Citing Baker’s attorney, a former federal prosecutor, Jordan noted that he expressed surprise over the turn of events, saying that in his long career with the DOJ, he never saw “in an initial appearance on misdemeanor charges where the defendant was told first to report to the FBI…before going to the courthouse.”
“This conduct smacks of harassment and selective treatment for a disfavored criminal defendant,” Jordan’s letter continued.
The GOP chairman wrote that it seems the DOJ violated its “mission of equal justice under the law” and that its conduct “criminalizes politics and weaponizes the administration of justice.”
In a statement to Blaze News on Tuesday, Baker thanked Jordan and independent journalist Breanna Morello who posted news of the letter online.
“Breanna Morello’s advocacy for the innocent and the overcharged, over-persecuted January 6 defendants is tireless and without peer. What we see from her publicly is only a fraction of what she does behind the scenes,” Baker said.
We will not bend the knee. Thank you @BreannaMorello for your tireless advocacy for all the innocent J6ers. https://t.co/TEPQgFBDsx
— Steve Baker – TPC (@TPC4USA) March 12, 2024
“I want to thank Rep. Jim Jordan for not only recognizing my struggle but also for demanding full transparency in the DOJ’s prosecution of all J6 cases,” Baker said. “I’m blessed by the platform I’ve been given, but I intend to use this attention to shine a light on all those who have been unfairly treated by the unprecedented weaponization of the DOJ, their double standards, and the selective prosecution being wielded against J6 defendants.”
DONATE TO BIZPAC REVIEW
Please help us! If you are fed up with letting radical big tech execs, phony fact-checkers, tyrannical liberals and a lying mainstream media have unprecedented power over your news please consider making a donation to BPR to help us fight them. Now is the time. Truth has never been more critical!
Frieda@bizpacreview.com
Originally from New York, Powers graduated from New York University and eventually made her way to sunny South Florida where she has been writing for the BizPacReview team since 2015.
- 221 DEAD people received federal housing aid in Colorado— Trump admin. demands answers - December 18, 2025
- Cruise Line official pushes back on ‘nonsense’ drink package limit - December 18, 2025
- Border Patrol Chief and progressive mayor clash during street confrontation - December 18, 2025
Comment
We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.
BPR INSIDER COMMENTS
Scroll down for non-member comments or join our insider conversations by becoming a member. We'd love to have you!
One thought on “House Judiciary to investigate ‘selective prosecution’ of journalist Steve Baker, ‘disfavored’ J6 defendants”
Comments are closed.
Read the First Amendment, paying close attention to the last clause, “or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
The actions of the Democrat-led Congress and the DOJ violated the US Constitution as the people on Jan 6 had every right to be there and every right to enter Congress to petition those they felt misrepresented them. But what is worse, not one GOP representative has said a thing about the Constitution in relation to January 6, 2021, nor have any of the so-called conservative news types and social media influencers. That list reads zero, and Miss Powers’ name is absent as well.