DOJ charging Raleigh J6 journalist | Red Hat racial discrimination | $1.1 billion for Raleigh-Wake Forest rail

No. 50 — Dec. 10-16, 2023

Dec 16, 2023

DOJ charging independent journalist from Raleigh for covering J6

Local journalist Steve Baker has been informed by the DOJ that he must turn himself in to face charges for covering the Capitol Riot on January 6th as an independent journalist. Baker was initially told he would be required to surrender himself this Tuesday, but the date has been pushed back until “after Christmas”.

The DOJ has been holding charges over Baker’s head for over two years. After letting him know that he would be “charged within the week” in late 2021, the DOJ went radio silent for nearly two years. It wasn’t until August of this year that Baker’s attorney received a grand jury subpoena for video that Baker had captured on January 6th, indicating that he was still under investigation.

Baker’s initial reporting on the Capitol Riot included two articles in early 2021, What I Saw on January 6th in Washington, DC and Who was “Up the Chain” on January 6?. Since being threatened with prosecution, Baker’s has conducted a great deal of additional coverage of January 6th in an investigative capacity, including attending a number of January 6th trials in person (including my own).

Baker believes that his continued prosecution is connected to the content of his reporting on January 6th. Baker has published a number of stories which cast the government or government actors in a negative light, including evidence that a Capitol Police officer perjured himself, evidence casting doubt on another “celebrity” Capitol Police officer, and a three part series titled Capitol Police Were Sacrificial Pawns on Jan. 6 (part 1, part 2, part 3).

The details of the charges against Baker have not been released.

Red Hat caught red-handed in discriminatory hiring practices

“BREAKING LEAKED VIDEO: CEO of IBM @ArvindKrishna admits to using coercion to fire people and take away their bonuses unless they discriminate in the hiring process…” - James O’Keefe video on Twitter

America First Legal pushes for inquiry into 'systemic discrimination' at IBM - Washington Examiner

An investigation published this week by James O’Keefe revealed that Raleigh-based IBM subsidiary Red Hat has fired managers for failing to “live up to” the company’s DEI standards, which included quotas for hiring “underrepresented” minorities. The company also ties bonuses to DEI goals; executives could lose out if they don’t sufficiently tip the scales in favor of the preferred demographics (Blacks, Hispanics, and females) at the expense of unfavord demographics (Whites, Asians, and males).

O’Keefe Media Group also received a leaked “Allyship Commandments” document, which includes the racist idea that “only WHITE people are racist”:

FACT SHEET: President Biden Announces Billions to Deliver World-Class High-Speed Rail and Launch New Passenger Rail Corridors Across the Country - White House press release

Pete Buttigieg visits Raleigh to tout $1B bipartisan railroad investment: 'Game changer' - ABC11

‘A generational undertaking.’ USDOT’s Buttigieg marks $1 billion rail project in Wake - N&O

NCDOT got $1.1 billion to build a railroad in Wake County. What does that buy? - N&O

The Biden administration announced that over a billion taxpayer dollars would be used for a project to convert the current S-Line freight rail corridor into high-speed passenger rail. Although it’s intented to be part of an program with the goal of connecting Raleigh and Richmond via high-speed rail, the entirety of this grant will be spent on the 15.6 mile distance between Raleigh and Wake Forest.

The White House press release touts that this enormous sum will result in “new and upgraded track, eleven grade separations and closure of multiple at-grade crossings”.

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