We used to think it was elsewhere—the Soviet Union, Nazi Germany, communist China.
But something happened in this country, as Ernest Hemingway said of bankruptcy, “gradually, then suddenly.”
Many now believe we are living in a new form of tyranny here in the USA.
The fate of independent journalist (now with The Blaze) Steve Baker is a terrifying illustration of where we are today in the land founded on the principle of freedom of speech.
Mr. Baker was inside the U.S. Capitol on Jan 6, 2021, as a journalist doing the usual note-taking and videoing of what was occurring, nothing remotely violent, only to find himself having been treated by our Justice Department as some kind of “insurrectionist” to a degree that he was placed for a time in irons.
After now years of threats to prosecute him, Mr. Baker has finally been summoned to appear Wednesday, April 3, at the U.S. District Court in Washington to answer a criminal complaint on four code violations similar to those that have led to the incarceration of many Jan. 6 defendants. They are:
18 U.S.C. § 1752(a)(1) – Knowingly Entering or Remaining in any Restricted Building or Grounds Without Lawful Authority,
18 U.S.C. § 1752(a)(2) – Disorderly and Disruptive Conduct in a Restricted Building or Grounds,
40 U.S.C. § 5104(e)(2)(D) – Disorderly Conduct in a Capitol Building,
40 U.S.C. § 5104(e)(2)(G) – Parading, Demonstrating, or Picketing in a Capitol Building.
Mr. Baker could actually now do jailtime for being a reporter—in the USA.
It’s more than worth noting journalists from several mainstream media organs, including their mother ship, The New York Times, were inside the Capitol reporting at the same time as Mr. Baker.
None of them have been asked to answer a criminal complaint or anything similar for their activities that day. This is likely because their reporting mostly adhered to what has been called “the party line” while Mr. Baker wrote and videoed what he saw.
As one who has earned his living as a writer all my life, the implications of Mr. Baker’s case alarmed and continue to alarm me.
We became acquainted through a mutual friend a while ago. I interviewed Mr. Baker—whom I consider a hero of our time—the week of March 25 in Nashville. What follows has been slightly edited for brevity and clarity.
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