DOJ subpoenas independent journalist who covered Jan. 6 protest

by WorldTribune Staff, August 8, 2023

The Biden Department of Justice has ordered an independent journalist to turn over all video he shot at and near the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Steve Baker said he was served a subpoena, signed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Anita Eve, demanding he show up in Washington, D.C. on Aug. 16 to turn over his material.

Steve Baker told Fox News host Tucker Carlson in March: ‘I was eventually I believe targeted, not because I was there as a journalist, but because that my story did not comport with the approved narrative.’

Baker was given the alternative of surrendering his video to the FBI in his home state of North Carolina, but told The Epoch Times that he plans to appear in person in D.C.

He said the subpoena likely means the DOJ is investigating him for alleged felonies.

“They want to silence me,” Baker said during an Aug. 7 Spaces broadcast on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Related: Like 1,000 others at Jan. 6 rally, reporter tells Tucker Carlson he may also be charged, March 22, 2023

Baker said he believes his coverage of the Jan. 6 protest is protected by the First Amendment. He said he did not damage property, encourage anyone to enter the building, or participate in chants or actions by protesters.

Baker said he was threatened in 2021 with a charge of interstate racketeering for licensing his Jan. 6 video footage to HBO and other media outlets.

In August 2021, Baker said he showed up for an interview with the FBI, but that meeting was delayed because of a federal rule that requires the attorney general to sign off on interviewing any member of the press. In November 2021, Mr. Baker was told he would be charged “within the week.”

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“The interstate racketeering charge was just absurd on its face,” Baker said. The 2021 investigation never resulted in charges.

“We never heard from them again for over 20 months, until Friday,” Baker said.

DOJ investigators were likely triggered by a story on the U.S. Capitol Police that Baker has been developing for 10 months, he said, adding that the story is close to completion but still requires more video research in D.C.

In March of this year, Baker said a high-profile journalist called him at 6:30 a.m. one day with a warning from a DOJ insider. “ ‘Your friend in Raleigh, tell him to be careful,’ ” the message said. “ ‘He has awakened a couple of people’s attention to his work, and they’re not happy about it at all.’ ”

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