Journalist arrested, charged for Jan. 6 coverage

300-plus arrested after gathering at Capitol complex to protest Israel-Hamas war

https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2023/12/19/dc-protests-israel-gaza-war-ceasefire/

Seems to be a great deal less violence and property damage in both these cases.

 

The two tweets cited here were from a "patriot" (whatever that means) and someone who said she fled Fox News because of the COVID vax mandate.

 

As an aside, and for what it's worth, I'm not sure where I land on the credentialing of journalists.

Certainly shouldn't be in the hands of the government.

 

Credentialed by whom? The events outside were in a public square were they not? That isn’t the Super Bowl where you need a pass to get in

“Be credentialed or face federal charges” sounds dangerously close to that bullshit liscensing thing in Oklahoma in the other thread

 

Why would he need credentials for that? Were there even credentials for that, if he wasn't planning to go into any sensitive areas until events took him that way?
If you're writing a story on tailgating at a college football game, you don't need credentials just to be on campus.

 

This guy thinks Antifa protesters represented a decent portion of the Jan. 6 riot.

 

That's not what's going on here. He isn't charged with conduct outside of the building. Indeed, there is no space outside that requires credentials. Inside the building is a different matter. It has to be. You have to have a credentialing system in order to preserve some spaces in the building that require structure or have amenities that facilitate your work. There are limits. Not everybody with his own website can get into the press work room. Members of the media are in the building long after it might be closed to the general public, and that's understood and recognized with an official credentialing system.

Also remember that time. COVID was still a thing.

 

A credential tells law enforcement you are a member of the news media and allowed access the general public is not.

Were the events outside the Capitol on the grounds of the United States Capitol Complex and under the jurisdiction of the United States Capitol Police? If so, he needed a credential.

 

Yeah, it's such a dicey area. I'm certainly against any license situation or the government being involved. It reminds me of the BLOGS! situation years ago. Legit or not? Access or not?

But it is frustrating because a lot of bad actors (not saying this guy is one) can just claim to be a journalist with no qualifications at all. On a quick look, Baker appears to be a musician from North Carolina. So where does that fall?

Though, any attempt to rewrite, whitewash or downplay what happened on Jan. 6 gets a metric fuck-ton of skepticism from me. And, again with no knowledge of the person in question, he appears to fall on the side of it was not a big deal. And it was one of the darkest days in U.S. history.

 

If violence breaks out outside, it is far better to have a credential, although that is not a guarantee of being protected from something bad happening to you.

 

Here are the rules to be accredited for the Senate Press Gallery. Membership - U.S. Senate Daily Press

 

Speaker’s office looks to review Capitol press credentialing process - Roll Call

The office of Speaker Kevin McCarthy has taken initial steps to form a working group to explore potential changes to media credentialing at the Capitol, a rare lawmaker intervention into a process long overseen by journalists.

Two sources familiar with the effort confirmed the speaker’s office had contacted press galleries about forming a group. Details about who would be on the group and the scope of the review, as well as the reason for starting the group, are still unclear.

Ryan Nobles of NBC, the vice chair of the executive committee of the Radio Television Correspondents Association, said the association “is aware of a request by the Speaker’s Office to conduct a meeting with the Directors of the Galleries and our leaders.”


“The parameters of the meeting have not yet been made clear, but our organization is always prepared to meet with our Congressional partners to discuss opportunities for increased press access,” Nobles said in an email.

Members of the media, elected to committees by their peers, currently oversee the process of who gets media credentials and enforcement of the rules about news gathering in the Capitol Building.