FBI orders Blaze Media reporter Steve Baker to self-surrender over alleged J6 'non-violent misdemeanors': report

The FBI is planning to arrest a Blaze Media reporter on Friday over his coverage of the US Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021.

Steve Baker, an investigative reporter for Blaze Media, announced on Tuesday that his legal team had been notified by the FBI that there is a signed warrant for his arrest. Baker says he has been ordered to self-surrender to federal authorities for "alleged J6 crimes" on Friday in Dallas, Texas.

The Blaze Media reporter nor his attorneys have been properly informed about the charges Baker faces, other than that they are "non-violent misdemeanors" according to the reporter. Failure to inform about charges could be a Sixth Amendment violation, which grants individuals accused of a crime to "be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation."

The Department of Justice first informed Baker about his looming arrest in December, but the FBI notified him that the self-surrender date would be postponed until after Christmas, according to Blaze Media. The outlet reported that "the powers that be won’t tell [Baker’s] attorney about the charges because they believe Baker will post them on social media."

"We do not yet know the specific charges," Baker wrote on X. "Technically … they are still ‘under seal’ until the warrant is served. All else is as yet unknown. By this weekend, I will officially be a misdemeanor domestic journo-terrorist. (Something like that.)"

Baker explained in a thread on X that he has been ordered to turn himself in to the FBI at 7:00 am where he will then be transported to the Dallas courthouse before a 10 am scheduled hearing before the magistrate.

"The prosecutor informed my attorney that I am to arrive at the FBI field office wearing 'shorts and sandals.' They didn’t have to go this route, as we've been told that my charges are non-violent misdemeanors," said Baker.

"My attorneys have also been assured by the gov. that this will be an 'in and out' affair and that they have 'no intention' of detaining me. But, rather than issuing a simple order to appear, they seem to feel the need to give me a dose of the personal humiliation treatment," he added.

Matthew Peterson, editor-in-chief of Blaze Media, slammed his reporter's upcoming arrest, saying that there's "no need to put him in a jumpsuit or handcuffs except as a humiliation ritual or a show, which seems to be exactly what they are planning on doing on Friday."

"Government retaliation such as this against journalists contradicts the very idea of a free press, the purpose of our form of government, and what once was the American way of life," said Peterson, adding that this "should not be happening in America."

While it's unclear what charges the DOJ has recommended against Baker, the Justice Department has used "non-violent misdemeanor" charges to convict and imprison hundreds of non-violent protesters who were in Washington, DC to attend a rally with then President Donald J. Trump and then moved to the Capitol building. Biden's Special Counsel Jack Smith has used the obstruction of an official proceeding theory as the basis for half of his charges against Trump in the J6 case against him.

James Lee Bright, Baker's attorney, told The Blaze that it's "chilling" to witness federal authorities "going after people who were legitimate functioning journalists that day."

Bright said that the DOJ withholding the charges against his client is "really unusual." The attorney hopes to get a copy of the complaint on Friday morning.