Steve Baker - TPC
News • Politics • Writing
Steve's Thoughts on the Closing Days of the Oath Keepers Trial 
Video and Audio Podcast Links, w/ Transcript
November 23, 2022
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The fates of Stewart Rhodes, Thomas Caldwell, Jessica Watkins, Kelly Meggs, and Ken Harrelson are now in the hands of the jury. The final days and closing arguments were not without surprises and more blatant mischaracterizations of the facts by the government. 

(Video and Audio Podcast Links, w/ Transcript, included. Also available on all major podcast platforms.)

VIDEO: https://rumble.com/v1wqyxo-steves-thoughts-on-the-closing-days-of-the-oath-keepers-trial.html

AUDIO: https://thepragmaticconstitutionalist.podbean.com/e/steve-s-thoughts-on-the-closing-days-of-the-oath-keepers-trial/

Transcript below:

-----

 

It’s Wednesday - the day before Thanksgiving. As you can see from the tree behind me - here at my AirBNB in DC . . . all the leaves are gone. When I first started podcasting from here, that tree was full and green. Then they began to turn with the autumn colors, then brown . . . now bare.

 

That’s how long I’ve been here, covering the Oath Keepers trial - from day one until the closing arguments . . . and now, as of yesterday morning . . . the fate of these five defendants are in the hands of the jury.

 

They only had one full day of deliberations - yesterday - before the holiday break. They will resume this coming Monday.

 

Being that it’s a multi-defendant trial, with so many different charges against each individual - including the incredibly complex conspiracy charges - I was pretty sure there was no way this jury would come back with a verdict on day one. Regardless of their own personal and political predispositions, I think even they believed they needed to give each defendant’s unique case, their own charges, and the evidence for and against, a decent once-over before coming back with a verdict . . . or some combination of guilty, not-guilty, or even being ‘hung’ on some charges.

 

At the very least - they need to put on a show. A quick verdict in such a complex case would scream that “the FIX was in.” Still . . . so cocksure was AUSA Jeff Nestler, he confidently told one of the defense attorneys - while leaving the courtroom on Monday - that he fully expected an unanimous guilty verdict to have been presented yesterday.

 

Well . . . that didn’t happen . . . so after I take a couple days to spend with my kids for Thanksgiving, I’ll be back in the courthouse on Monday - verdict watching - until these five defendants’ fates are declared.

 

I’ve got a lot to say about this trial. And much more will be said over time, as I break down various bits and pieces and try to draw more accurate conclusions . . . but I’m going to share with you some of my most recent thoughts and observations - especially at what took place in the last couple of days - focusing on the closing arguments made.

 

Let me get my one commercial out of the way, first . . . 

 

——

 

They say you “have not because you ask not” . . . so . . . here’s the need.

 

I simply can’t do this without your support. Like the MSM journalists I’ve shared the media room with over the last eight weeks - I’m not drawing a paycheck from one of those media giants. The expenses of doing this are 100% on me, and  . . . possible only because of the generosity of those who believe in what I’m doing.

 

Being in DC this many weeks  - honestly - has taken a tremendous toll. Not just the obscene expense of being here - but also that which is called the “lost opportunity costs” of paying no attention to my other career in the music business.

 

It’s no easy feat reinventing ones self at any age - but between the COVID lockdowns, January 6th, and the severe economic downturn - fate seems to have forced me into this new phase of life. I’m not complaining . . . I believe this is what I’m suppose to be doing . . . but that transition has not yet been paid for.

 

I have nothing to sell. I can only do this . . . whether it’s covering the Oath Keepers trials, chasing down a child trafficking operation in Texas, revealing the lies of the COVID tyranny, or whatever else is next in line . . . with your support.

 

Here’s the easiest three ways to help:

 

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One final note . . . despite the generosity of some, the expenses for covering this Oath Keepers trial here in DC hasn’t come close to being covered. And, I’m now being asked to cover another J6-er’s trial - not as big as this one - but every bit as important. Those $5 monthly subscriptions are important, but I need a couple of you who have the capability to help offset the lion share of these expenses with a single donation to come forward, if you can. 

 

I was blessed to have one such contributor to the child trafficking case in Houston - which I’ll be going back to, very soon . . . there’s a lot left on the table down there  . . . and I hope someone - or a couple of someones will feel led to help with these current projects and stories. They are making a difference. 

 

Okay . . . thank you. Back to the report on the last days of the trial . . . 

 

——

 

I haven’t done a video update on the trail for several days - frankly - because I was simply overwhelmed with all that was happening toward the end of last week.

 

We fully expected that closing arguments would begin as early as last Wednesday afternoon, until attorney Jonathan Crisp - representing Jessica Watkins - pulled a shocking surprise by calling his client to the stand to testify on her own behalf.

 

Crisp had not shared this with anyone. Not the other defense attorneys - not the government attorneys - and not Judge Mehta.

 

Immediately upon calling Watkins to the stand, the media room gasped aloud. . . then Crisp informed the Court . . . “this may take awhile. Do you want to break for lunch before we begin?” 

 

Mehta was shocked, and immediately called a sidebar. When he returned from sidebar, he dismissed the jury for lunch. Then Judge Mehta said . . . “it would have been nice to know this when I talked to the jury earlier,” . . .  (about the remaining schedule for the week.)

 

Mehta was openly pissed, and then stormed off the bench. His hopes for a verdict before Thanksgiving was shot to hell.

 

Another interesting aspect of this judge’s feigned impartiality in this case, is his long history directly with Watkins - going all the way back to her initial arrest. He’s had her case since the very beginning. On February 26, 2021, Judge Amit Mehta said this during one of her earliest detention hearings:

 

“She was not just a follower. She was higher up in the chain. She was a recruiter and did recruit others to participate in the events of January 6 … She is not just a foot soldier. She is someone planning, organizing larger groups of people.” 

 

Of course . . . Jessica Watkins was no leader in the Oath Keepers. She had just the year before attempted to establish her own militia - the OSRM - Ohio State Regular Militia . . . which never had more than six members. That she was, “someone planning, organizing larger groups of people” was a lie then, and persisted as a lie during the government’s case against her in this trial.

 

Watkins testimony and cross examinations did not end until the next day. Then, the government called one final rebuttal witness - FBI Agent Harris . . . for this third time on the stand in this trial . . . to button up some of their arguments . . . then Mehta began his long set of jury instructions to conclude Thursday’s session.

 

First thing Friday morning, AUSA Kathryn Rakoczy began the government’s closing summation with a blatant distortion of facts - quoting Stewart Rhodes - when he said:

 

“We are not getting through this without a civil war. Prepare your mind, body, and spirit.” 

 

That IS what he said - somewhere, sometime . . . but Rakoczy then followed the quote by saying Rhodes had “called” for civil war. 

 

No. That’s NOT what he said. He said to “prepare,” he did not “call” for civil war.

 

I’m not interested in defending Rhodes’ more hyperbolic, often conspiratorial language about either Trump calling for the Insurrection Act, or what he personally believes about the direction of this country under a “Chi-Com puppet regime.” (The Biden Administration.) 

 

The fact is . . . from the very beginning, I’ve said this trial was about the “scary words” uttered by Rhodes and some of the other of four defendants. It has never been about their “scary deeds.” Those did not happen. They were not “planned” - as the government asserts - but they said a lot of harsh things before, during, and after January 6th.

 

Sometimes things they were PREPARED to do, if needed. Sometimes things they were WILLING to do if either Antifa launched a major offensive at any of the events for which they provided personal security details, and then . . . after January 6th . . . things they COULD HAVE DONE had certain circumstances presented themselves.

 

What the government never was able to do, was to present evidence of actual PLANNING or ORDERS from Rhodes and the other defendants to commit the actual crimes for which they were charged.

 

Time and again, under cross examination, the many FBI Special Agents presenting testimony against the Oath Keepers were forced to admit that they had no messages, chats, phone call transcripts, or written orders for that total of 14 alleged co-conspirators to either “storm the Capitol,” “hunt Congress members,” or “stop the certification of the electoral college vote.”

 

And - mostly importantly - nothing these five defendants did on that day accomplished any of those stated crimes.

 

Only three of these defendants even entered the Capitol . . . for less than 20 minutes . . . they formed a circle and prayed in the Rotunda. They took up position between officer Harry Dunn and see of the more aggressive protestors, keeping those protestors from forcing themselves against Dunn and the staircase he was defending with an M4 rifle . . . diffusing the situation. Then, they left the building - voluntarily - under no compulsion from any law enforcement officer.

 

Only Jessica Watkins got caught up in a shoving scrum where protestors were trying to force their way toward the Senate chamber - an action for which she took full responsibility - and for which her own attorney ultimately said she should be found guilty.

 

Neither Stewart Rhodes or Thomas Caldwell entered the Capitol building. 

 

During the Government’s closing argument, AUSA Rakoczy’s hyperbolic exaggerations of her assertions were every bit as egregious as any of the inflammatory talk between some of those Oath Keepers. The difference is, THEY never actually carried or used any weapons on anyone. But some of these defendants had SWAT teams raid their homes with red dots trained upon them from automatic weapons - and four of the five have been held at gunpoint for many months. Some, almost two years now.

 

During Thomas Caldwell’s testimony, we learned the raid on he and his wife’s VA farm occurred on a pre-dawn January morning. In the winter cold, with bullhorns blaring, the 69-year old, 100% combat disabled veteran, was forced outside and onto the ground - in his underwear - while red dots were trained on his 60-something year old wife - wearing nothing but her thin nightie. 

 

Caldwell never entered the Capitol building. He’s never been a member of the Oath Keepers. But . . . he has the salty language of a 20 year military veteran.

 

Caldwell was a naval intelligence commander. Also worked for the FBI after retiring from the Navy., and has never been arrested or charged with a crime in his lifetime. At his arraignment, the FBI lied to the judge - not only obscuring his service record and time with the FBI, but told the judge he had an extensive criminal record. 

 

Obviously, those lies were revealed in court, but the government was undeterred as they proceeded with their closing arguments, filled with extensive distortion of language, intentions, their actions leading up to January 6th, and finally what they were doing on the day.

 

When it was their turn, the Defense teams came out swinging for the fence in their closing arguments, literally calling the government’s case a pack of lies and mischaracterizations of the facts, timelines, and truth itself.

 

Over and over again, each attorney - in defense of their clients - pointed out that every time they cross examined the many FBI agents, none of them could produce written or verbal evidence of any orders or commands for these defendants to “storm the Capitol,” “hunt Congress members,” or “stop the certification of the election.”

 

Interestingly - late in the trial - the government, realizing this was happening, switched their theme from trying to assert an EXPLICIT plan to do those things, to the assertion that they were all acting on an IMPLICIT plan to do so.

 

The government’s case went from one based solely on a conspiracy of SCARY WORDS, to one of a THOUGHT CRIME. In fact - they begin stating that the seditious conspiracy itself could very well have happened as late as when some of these defendants were on the steps of the Capitol . . . almost via telepathic communication with one another.

 

Never mind the fact that via their own evidence presented, when Rhodes and his operational leader, Michael Greene began trying to gather the Oath Keepers together to leave the Capitol grounds . . . at around 3pm . . . the messages being sent clearly said for those “not still on mission” to meet on the NE corner of the building.

 

Not on MISSION? What was that mission? It was the seven different personal security details various OKs were engaged in . . . before the whole security operation was shot to hell by the massive rioting that occurred BEFORE they arrived on the Capitol grounds.

 

But, in AUSA Jeffrey Nestler’s final rebuttal to the defense closing statements, he switched gears yet again:

 

Despite the fact that during the entire trial the government tried to diminish the  veracity of those personal security details the OKs were performing . . . they had been hit with the evidence of actual PERMITs issued by Capitol Police for the staging and VIP speakers on the Capitol lawn - to which OKs were escorting their protectees to the Capitol from the rally at The Ellipse. There was also incontrovertible video evidence of those escorts taking place.

 

Instead of continuing to dismiss the OKs PSDs on the 5th and 6th - Nestler finally said that those security details were nothing more than diversions . . . a COVER for their actual IMPLIED intentions to attack Congress and HUNT Congress members.

 

Sitting in the media room - listening to those new assertions and distortions of the presented evidence, my blood was boiling . . . as this would be the last thing the jury members would hear before they began their deliberations. 

 

Not a presentation of evidence or facts . . . but a BRAND new assertion that these five unarmed individuals, along with 9 other indicted co-conspirators were somehow going to overwhelm the Capitol Police, the DC Metro Police, elements of police agencies from VA and MD - along with tactical units of the FBI, ATF, US Marshals, and embedded Army special forces in the crowd. 

 

Against all these - unarmed - they were going to overthrow the government of the United States.

 

THAT is the absurdity of what this jury is being asked to believe.

 

Further - from the government’s opening argument to their final closing, they told the jury that the OKs were the LEADERS of this attack on our democracy.

 

LEADERS! Despite the fact that not a single Oath Keeper was present at the initial barricade breach at 12:42pm. (They were still at The Ellipse - in the VIP section were President Trump was speaking - cleared by the Secret Service to be there.)

 

LEADERS! Despite the fact not a single OK was engaged or even present in that initial battle line on the lower west terrace - where LEOs were being attacked and assaulted.

 

LEADERS! Despite the fact that not a single OK was present when those actual LEADING provocateurs broke that first west side Senate wing window . . . crawled through, and opened that door to hundreds of protestors who then poured into the Capitol over the next 25 minutes.

 

LEADERS! Despite the irrefutable video evidence that not a single OK pushed upon the east side doors - from the INSIDE . . . while the OKs were singing the National Anthem on those east side steps.

 

No OK ever participated in the breach of a single outer barricade, busted a window, or so much as pushed open a doorway. But . . . someone did. Someone LED those assaults on LEOs. Someone opened those west side doors, then moved through and around to open those east side doors. But it wasn’t the Oath Keepers.

 

Not only did the government never prove that the OKs had a conspiratorial connection to those actual LEADERS who breached barricades and opened doors . . . the government never made an attempt to make those connections.

 

Basically, the government’s theory is that the OKs knew this was all going to take place, and that they used the facade of providing security details as a cover for their intentions to march toward the Capitol and then . . . when the “OPPORTUNITY” presented itself, they were to execute the interruption of the election certification.

 

Not stated. Not ordered. Just IMPLIED. An IMPLICIT conspiracy to overthrow our government . . . unarmed . . . by 14 unarmed people.

 

It’s just a maddening absurdity.

 

As I’ve said before . . . if that truly was the plan . . . this, the alleged conspiracy . . . these were the stupidest 14 individuals in the history of warfare, civil war, and insurrection.

 

That our government can make this accusation against these 14 individuals requires a complete suspension of logic and common sense. BUT . . . half of this country operates and makes their judgements about all things political ,based upon their FEELINGS, rather than on FACTS. 

 

And, this is a DC jury . . . where that jury pool is over 90% owned by the government itself. Literally every aspect of their lives - their jobs, careers, and lifestyles are based upon the government’s largesse. What this government extracts from the rest of the country and then deposits into DC and its surrounding counties. They are totally dependent upon that government . . . for everything.

 

Finally, the most maddening moments in this trial - for me - came when Judge Mehta openly pretended he had never heard of USCP officer Lt. Tarik Johnson, and the two OKs, including Mike Nichols - who together led a rescue of 16 USCP officers out of the Capitol and down those east steps. 

 

Both Nichols and the filmmaker who captured that famous moment - broadcast and covered by MSM news sources the world over - were sitting in the courtroom, prepared to testify - when Mehta blocked their testimonies from happening . . . with the jury outside the courtroom.

 

While the government was allowed to themselves present many prejudicial videos of those outer barricade breaches, attacks on officers, provocateurs breaking through windows and doors . . . before the OKs were even at the Capitol . . . Mehta refused to allow the equal and opposite presentation of that video of actual OKs rescuing Capitol police officers. 

 

The defense lawyers fought to get that testimony and video into evidence, more than once - even bringing in additional evidence the next day that other of the alleged co-conspirator OKs were also engaged in that rescue.

 

Mehta angrily and forcefully argued that because they had no definitive relationship to THESE five defendants, he wouldn’t allow it.

 

Most telling, was when Mehta PRETENDED he had never seen that video, and took the time to privately watch it at his bench video screen. PRETENDING to give that evidence a fair review, before denying its admission . . . then again . . . then again.

 

And, the one thing you won’t hear from the MSM . . . is that OK Mike Nichols had already been subpoenaed BY THE GOVERNMENT . . . I posted the actual subpoena - signed by AUSA Nestler on my Locals page and on Twitter. That was a preemptive ploy - knowing he would surely be an important witness for the defense. But, when the defense brought him in, the hypocrisy and fangs came to the fore. In collusion with Judge Mehta, they struck down Nichols’ testimony - sending him home before the jury could hear his story and see the compelling video of what Oath Keepers actually do . . . what their mission actually was . . . what it has always been over hundreds - thousands of security details and disaster relief operations they have performed since their inception 13 years ago.

 

——

 

In closing . . . I just want to say a little bit about my interactions with the MSM journalists I spent eight weeks in the media room with. 

 

I’ll soon write and talk more about this, because I spent as much time observing them and their work, as I did the trial.

 

In short . . . very few of the 30-plus journalists I shared the room with ever made any attempt to meet me. I was the interloper. The outsider. Not part of the club. As such, most of them treated me that way.

 

Over the weeks, I did eventually have some pleasant interactions with some of those reporters:

 

Alan Feuer of the NY Times. Carrie Johnson of NPR. Hannah Rabinowitz of CNN. Brandi Bucman of Daily Kos. And Ryan Reilly of NBC. To name a few. Mostly though . . . nothing. 

 

While I was impressed by the professionalism and especially the talent of some of these journalists, after reading their stories, I often wondered if they were watching the same trial I was seeing. We obviously see the word through a different lens. 

 

My sole philosophical companion during the entire trial was Madalina Vasiliu of The Epoch Times. We stayed close, and shared notes, a lot.

 

Madalina is a young, 27-year old writer for Epoch, and she covered the trial fairly and factually - with no editorial license . . . as I am want to do. She’s Romanian, and English is her third language . . . after her native Romanian, Italian, and she’s now learning Mandarin. She does great work and I encourage you to follow her on Twitter, and her stories at The Epoch Times.

 

Okay . . . time for me to head to Charlottesville for the rest of the week . . . and spend Thanksgiving with my kids. I’ll be back at the District courthouse on Monday morning, waiting for the jury’s verdicts.

 

——

 

Please follow me on Locals:

 

the pragmatic constitutionalist dot locals dot com

 

Or . . . go to your app store and download the Locals app, then search for:

 

@TPC4USA

 

It’s free to subscribe, but if you can, please become a supporting member for as little as $5 per month. If you can help with more, you can also donate any amount there.

 

God bless you, and I wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving.

 

I’m Steve Baker . . . The Pragmatic Constitutionalist.

 

Talk to you again, soon.

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Bull City Syndicate - 23 Years, and Done
New beginnings and the end of an era as I retire my bands

On December 8, 2023, Bull City Syndicate (BCS) played its final show. We went out with a bang, performing a top-shelf corporate holiday event to 700 enthusiastic attendees. Appropriately, in the city of the band’s birth — Durham, NC — The Bull City. I considered booking a final public show, but after much thought, I decided to retire the band in a more low-key, less public manner. 

In November of 2000, I answered an ad from an established local band then known as Soul Kitchen & The Bull City Horns. (SK) I’d spent a year getting my trumpet chops back into shape after a decade in the music business, managing other artists. I did not intend to do anything in SK other than return to my first love: just playing the trumpet. I didn’t want to manage the band and certainly had no interest in ownership. I just wanted to play again. Money didn’t matter. And in those days, even as one of the premier club bands in the Raleigh/Durham market, my share of earnings from a 9-piece horn band rarely covered my bar tab.

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“Yes!”

“I manage bands for a living.”

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From that point forward, things began to change quickly for SK. First began a radical updating of our set list designed to draw more people to our shows and more dollars for the band. I began to pursue more private events and larger public shows. Some of the original band members were not happy about the extra demands and work required to make the move from a fun club band to a serious special event band, and we began to replace members. With the band growing in popularity, we were able to attract even more versatile and better-trained musicians. We went from being a really good band to a great "horn band," packing out every live performance and fielding requests for those higher-paying private events.

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Durham Herald Sun Magazine feature in 2008

When the economy began to tank in the summer of 2008 and into 2009, so many local music venues didn’t survive or cut their live music budgets drastically, and private event buyers were forced to hire smaller bands and DJs. Bull City Syndicate made the decision to add a female lead singer to the line-up — as that was a requirement of so many private event and wedding buyers. Our 9-piece “all dude” band became a 10-piece outfit, and the additional female lead remained a feature of the band for its remaining years.

Anyone managing a 10-piece band knows that turnover is going to happen — even when there’s no drama or interpersonal issues. People move away, change jobs, etc. Life happens. But, somewhere around 2010, there was a particular tumult that caused five of our members to leave, and suddenly, with no remaining original members, Bull City Syndicate became “my” band. We were able to fill the missing spots quickly, and the band really took off. No longer led by a “committee,” I was able to take the band to the next level, particularly as a private event and festival band.

Bull City Syndicate Christmas show in Raleigh, NC - 2016

There were many highlights through my time with both incarnations of the band: SK and BCS. My very first gig with SK was an opening date for Kool & The Gang. Our last such brush with greatness was when Dolly Parton joined us onstage performing her classic hit, “Jolene.”

We were honored to be the headlining entertainment for the last two NC Governor’s Inaugural Balls. We performed for some of the largest companies and charities in America: SAS, Glaxo, AT&T, American Heart Association, and too many others to list. We traveled throughout the Mid-Atlantic region for shows — as far north as Maryland and even down to Florida.

Our first spin-off, Cafe Mars, eventually became a 6-piece version of the band called BCS Express. Then, 10 years ago, we added a “yacht rock” version of the band called Captain & The Keels. (C&K) The same line-up as BCS, doing the smooth rock hits from ’75 to ’85, with appropriate foolish costumes.

Captain & The Keels in Hampton, VA - 2016

In 2018 came my most fun spin-off. A David Bowie Tribute act called The American Bowie Experience. (ABX) With that group, we moved our bassist, Randy Ines, over to keys (because of his virtuoso piano chops), and brought my son Duncan in on bass guitar. (Bowie’s son is also named Duncan. Just a coincidence.) Despite the growing popularity and demand for ABX, that band didn’t survive the COVID-19 pandemic after a year and a half of lockdowns. It was everything I could do just to get BCS back to work.

American Bowie Experience at House of Blues in Myrtle Beach, SC - 2019

The aftermath of the pandemic was the beginning of the end for BCS. My life began to change drastically. For more than 25 years I’d been a hobbyist political writer and commentator. My writing chops began to take shape in the early days of the Internet. AOL, Compuserve, and Prodigy eventually became MySpace. MySpace became Facebook, where my online following really began to take off. 

In early 2020 — long after the four versions of the band had become my full-time job and main source of income — “Two Weeks to Flatten the Curve” became two months of COVID lockdowns, and none of the band projects were allowed to do live performances. It was then that I decided to monetize my writing “hobby,” moving that to the captain’s seat of my endeavors and BCS and its spinoffs to the co-pilot’s seat. By 2022 and into 2023, my journalistic efforts were being rewarded with significant media attention, and my travels were keeping me away from the band and its needs with increasing frequency. 

In the summer of 2023, I was approached by Dallas-based Blaze Media to become a contributing writer. I was now splitting most of my time between D.C. and Dallas, and the bands’ bookings were suffering. With that came the hard decision that ultimately led me to retire from the BCS and C&K brands, make the total life transition and reinvention to a full-time writer and investigative journalist for The Blaze.

An appearance on The Glenn Beck Show in 2023

I’ve been doing music in one form or the other for over 50 years. At 19 years old, I was traveling the world playing trumpet. In the 80s, I was working for churches doing music and promoting contemporary Christian music concerts with the biggest names in that industry. Into the 90s, I became manager to national acts touring around the world — which caused me to put my horns in the closet for about 10 years. By 1999, I just wanted to play music again, and I answered that ad to join Soul Kitchen & The Bull City Horns.

Obviously, this telling is the very short version of that 23-year experience, and what became such a significant part of my life. There were hard times and bad times, but mostly wonderful times with all the guys and gals I was honored to perform with. We played for near-empty rooms and for as many as 40,000 at festivals. We shared the stage with famous artists and many of the best local musicians and bands. I will always cherish every moment.

BCS Express in Cary, NC - 2013

I want to express my heartfelt thanks and admiration to all the fantastic musicians who made those 23 years unforgettable. And to the fans who continued to show up for our infrequent club shows in the last couple of years. Many who’d been coming to see us for over 20 years!

At our final Durham show on December 8, I stepped off the stage a few times just to watch and soak it in. After the last song, and when we began the final tear-down and load-out of the gear, one of the guys said to me, “You know you’re going to miss this.”

Yes . . . I am.

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A Brief Summary of My Personal January 6 Story Timeline (Then ’til Now)
Mainly For Newer Followers, Not Yet Up-to-Speed on My Work

A more detailed account of my day on January 6, 2021, can be found here:

https://thepragmaticconstitutionalist.locals.com/post/3897816/what-i-saw-on-january-6th-in-washington-dc


 

-On Dec. 21, 2020 — two days after Trump announced his own "wild" J6 rally at The Ellipse in D.C. — I posted this announcement to my social media accounts:

“Regardless of how you feel about the election results, this might be a spectacle worth observing up close and personal. (I'm predisposed to believe this crowd will not riot, loot, and burn the city.) I might begin my northeast run on this date, in DC. Anyone else going? #tpcroadtrip2021”

Well . . . they didn't "burn the city."

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-In my email newsletter that went out on January 4, 2021, I made the following comment:

“I am headed to DC on Wednesday. Why? Not because I think a crowd of any size is going to force government into a real investigation of the election results, but because the “powers that be” on all sides of the political equation need to see WE THE PEOPLE in force, letting them know that WE ARE WATCHING. WE are engaged! WE are not going to lay down to any level of tyranny — whether it comes from the right or the left, the Democrats or the GOP. I’m also hoping to document on video anything “special” that might happen, and perhaps get a few interviews from a variety of voices.”

-By “special” . . . it was rumored there would be some big announcement on the election controversy, (a release of The Kraken, maybe), about which I hoped to get comments from members of the crowd. There was nothing special announced from the stage, by Trump or any of the others. The “special” came later . . . unexpectedly.

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-I arrived at the Washington Monument at about 9:30 am on January 6, and spent the next three hours watching the crowd grow to an enormous size — documenting it on video.

-Trump took the stage almost an hour later than announced, at 11:57 pm. His “warm-up” acts were ‘meh,’ and his speech was equally ‘meh.’ Because of the cold, windy conditions, the poor audio, and wanting to get ahead of the throng that was scheduled to march on the Capitol for the other events, I left the Washington Monument lawn about halfway through Trump’s speech and began a brisk walk toward the Capitol Building . . . along with thousands of others already peeling off from Trump's speech.

-I arrived at the Reflection Pool on the west side of the Capitol at about 1:15 pm, where I was hearing police sirens and what sounded like explosions. From there, I could see smoke and the arrival of DC Metro PD (MPD) units pouring down the steps toward the west terrace. I made the decision to sprint up to the terrace, where I turned on my camera at 1:19 pm, and for almost an hour filmed the violence and surging crowds in that area.

-Just after 2:00 pm I began to notice signs of Capitol Police (USCP) withdrawal. Shortly thereafter, there was a sudden surge of protestors up the stairs underneath the scaffolding on the northwest side of the terrace. Hundreds of protestors were now in unrestricted movement up those stairs, so I followed.

-At approximately 2:21 pm I followed hundreds of protestors through what some call the “Senate Wing door.” This, I would later learn, was the site of the first breach of the building. I did not see the breach, as it occurred at approximately 2:13 pm, while I was still on the lower terrace.

-For almost 40 minutes I captured scenes inside the Capitol Building, before exiting at about 2:59 pm, at the exact location where FBI tactical unit medics were trying to save Ashli Babbit’s life. Just over one minute after I exited through the South door, I filmed Babbitt’s extraction through that doorway, while the D.C. Fire EMT crew still worked feverishly on her lifeless body.

Screenshot from my video - January 6, 2021 - of Ashli Babbitt being evacuated from
the Capitol Building by D.C. Fire Department emergency medical techs.

-Shortly thereafter, I gave a couple of interviews to local media, found a restroom and a sandwich, then returned to the Capitol to witness the arrival of the Army and Air Force National Guards finalize the clearing of the entire Capitol grounds. I then returned to my hotel in Arlington sometime after 7:30 pm.

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-For the next five days I began frame by frame review of my videos, and then started writing my first story about the event, which was posted on January 13, 2021:

https://thepragmaticconstitutionalist.locals.com/post/3897816/what-i-saw-on-january-6th-in-washington-dc

-On February 24, 2021, I published my second story about J6:

https://thepragmaticconstitutionalist.locals.com/post/3897816/what-i-saw-on-january-6th-in-washington-dc

-As I’ve pointed out many times, I got a few things wrong in my earliest analyses. I’ve tried to correct those over the following months and years as new evidence has presented itself. But, those two articles remain as written — errors included.

——

-Because I engaged in no violence, property damage, chanting, singing, carried no flags, and wore no political messages on my clothing . . . as the months wore on I began to think maybe I was going to have the same respect as so many other journalists who were not being rounded up in the J6 dragnet. But, on the morning of July 22, 2021, I received a phone call from FBI Special Agent Gerrit Doss. After he asked me for a voluntary interview, I immediately turned that over to my local attorney, and they worked together with all our schedules to arrange a date for the interview.

-The first attempt at scheduling the FBI interview was aborted on-site, on the morning of August 5, 2021. The reason given — after my attorney and I had already arrived at their Cary, NC filed office — was that they could not interview me, “because of my press status,” until after they received a letter of approval from the U.S. Attorney General’s office.

-My attorney worked with an assistant USAG, they negotiated a proffer agreement for the interview, and it was rescheduled for October 18, 2021. I was interviewed for two full hours, under the agreement that nothing I said in the interview could be used against me — should charges be made against me — in court . . . unless I perjured myself. (That didn’t happen.)

-On November 17, 2021, my attorney received an email from Assistant U.S. Attorney Anita Eve — out of Philadelphia — stating, “Your client will be charged within the week.”

-On Monday morning of Thanksgiving week — November 22, 2021 — we sent out approximately 200 press releases to all manner of media sources, stating that I — an independent journalist — was about to be prosecuted for nothing more than the act of “journalism” on January 6.

-At approximately 1:00 pm that same day, AUSA Eve sent my attorney a copy of that press release, stating, “We’re not happy about this.” He responded, asking, “Are you saying my client should forego his 1st Amendment right because he is being persecuted by the federal government?" There were a couple of other exchanges between my attorney and the AUSA before she went silent. I assumed that was because of the Thanksgiving holiday.

-My phone began to ring from interested media sources, wishing to cover my story.

-On Tuesday evening — November 23 — I received a call from Senator Ron Johnson (WI), asking me how he could help. As the minority leader of a Senate J6 investigative committee, he put me in touch with his investigators.

-On Wednesday morning — November 24 — I was contacted by an attorney who practices criminal law in D.C., who happened to be a federal prosecutor for more than 20 years. After a three-hour phone call, I engaged his services.

-On Monday — November 29 — my new attorney reached out to AUSA Eve by both email and phone, and she never responded. We never heard from her or the FBI again . . . until yesterday — August 5, 2023 — more than 20 months later, when my Raleigh attorney received a call from the FBI notifying him that they had “service of process” for me.

-This turns out to be a Grand Jury subpoena, requesting my January 6 videos. My attorney received that on Monday. We have been able to determine the DOJ has reopened its investigation into my January 6 activities. I volunteered to give those to the FBI during my interview in October of ’21, but they never followed up and requested them. The most unfortunate fact is . . . grand juries are not convened to investigate misdemeanor crimes. For unknown reasons, they are apparently considering a felony recommendation to the grand jury. As of this writing, that is all we know.

——

-Since January 6, 2021, as well as the time since my threatened prosecution, I have been very active in investigating many aspects related to January 6. Something I never expected to be engaged in. I have broken original stories, developed Capitol Police whistleblowers, met with Congress Members, and engaged with congressional staffers and investigators. All of that has been well documented in my blogs.

-In the fall of 2022, I covered every day of the first, nine-week-long Oath Keepers trial, at the District Courthouse in D.C.

-I’ve been interviewed for my work by innumerable media sources — large and small — from Tucker Carlson on Fox News, to reporters with both NBC and the New York Times, to smaller podcasters. I’ve also collaborated on several stories with The Epoch Times, and have been one of a small hand full of journalists who’ve been given access to that “41,000 hours of J6 video” by Speaker McCarthy’s staff. I am just now entering into a “contributor” relationship with Blaze Media.

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As I said in the beginning, this is an abbreviated overview of my personal “January 6 story.” I have no idea what the government’s renewed interest is in me or my videos. The only “crime” I committed on January 6 — technically speaking — is to have entered a restricted building. But, so did some 80 to 100 other journalists who have not been charged with any crimes. We all simply followed the story where the story went that day.

It would be easy to speculate that I might be being singled out because I haven’t conformed to the “preferred narrative,” or because of the sensitivity of certain stories I’m currently working on. I simply have no idea, so can’t really go there. Not at least until I see the subpoena on Monday, and we can get some questions answered about the status of my case . . . which went from “Your client will be charged within the week” to total silence from the DOJ for more than a year and a half.

Some say there are “no coincidences” in this particular game . . . but we’ll know more on Monday.

Stay tuned . . .

Steve

P.S. I have no idea what they're looking for in my videos. What's so special, that it requires a Grand Jury subpoena? All the good stuff is already posted online:

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Tweetstorm Rollout on Secret U.S. Army SpecOps Deployed on January 6
Having no name, this top secret group is referred to as “the activity,” “the unit,” or “orange”

THREAD: Two and 1/2 years ago, in my 2nd article about #Jan6, (Feb. 24, 2021), I revealed a “very high probability that both [Army] ’Special Forces’ operatives and U.S. Marshalls were mixed in with the crowd that entered the Capitol Building.”

https://thepragmaticconstitutionalist.locals.com/post/3842175/who-was-up-the-chain-on-january-6

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10 months later (Jan. 3, 2022) Newsweek confirmed my sourcing with a story headlined, “Secret Commandos with Shoot-to-Kill Authority Were at the Capitol.” saying, “The role that the military played in this highly classified operation is still unknown.”

https://www.newsweek.com/exclusive-secret-commandos-shoot-kill-authority-were-capitol-1661330

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I have quietly investigated this discovery ever since and eventually revealed my knowledge of a SpecOps group deployed on J6 to be a top-secret SIGINT group from Ft. Belvoir, just outside D.C. (I have no info if this is the same group Newsweek reported.)

——

I have long been aware of a current member of this “unit” deployed to the Capitol on J6. Late in 2022, I was introduced to a retired member of the same SpecOps group. In short, he was highly impressed with my knowledge of that unit, as they officially . . . “do not exist.”

——

They may not officially “exist,” but in 2007, British author @MickWSmith revealed the existence and history of this U.S. Army SpecOps group in his book, “Killer Elite: The Inside Story of America's Most Secret Special Operations Team”

https://www.amazon.com/Killer-Elite-Completely-Americas-Operations-dp-1250006473/dp/1250006473/ref=dp_ob_title_bk

Unlike the SEALS or Delta Force, this secretive Army team does not have a name. Only their specific operations are given a name, and they are otherwise generally referred to as “the activity,” “the unit,” or “orange.”

——

My source, who is a retired member of “the unit” does not believe his former group could possibly have been used for any purpose on J6, as it is outside the operational protocols of their mission. Namely, when he was a member, they would never be used for domestic operations.

——

Also, he says they would never have been “seconded” to @FBI. They have a specific chain of command within the Army hierarchy and are only ever seconded to the CIA in overseas ops. That said, he has been retired from “the unit” for almost a decade.

——

In my recent interactions with congressional members and staff, I have been informed that they are aware the “the unit” was operational in some capacity on J6, but have been unable to get answers from @DeptofDefense, specifically because they “do not officially exist.”

——

In recent weeks, trying to get more information, I’ve read another team of special ‘intel’ investigators into my research on this subject. Our most recent discovery is that they have been able to identify another current member of “the unit” who was at the Capitol on J6.

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Before I go any further in this narrative, I'll emphasize that I've never implied “the unit” was deployed on J6 for nefarious purposes. In my 1st story, I theorized that they were simply there to “take care of business” should protestors get out of hand, using lethal weapons.

——

That established, their presence and deployment raises serious questions. Why are military forces being deployed in violation of posse comitatus law? Is it common practice for @DeptofDefense to allow military SpecOps to be used at domestic protest events?

——

More importantly, if this is not common, and was a one-off operation . . . having “the unit” seconded to @FBI on J6 . . . WHY? What did they know, requiring “the unit's” presence at the Capitol, and what was “the unit’s” “posture” on J6?

——

We are seeking more information, and answers to those questions, but do not expect to receive those directly from @FBI, @CapitolPolice, (if they even knew), or from @DeptofDefense. But, you may be asking why I’m talking about this without having all the facts nailed down.

——

My @FBI whistleblowing friends, @KyleSeraphin and @RealStevefriend have advised me that “daylight” is not only the “best disinfectant,” but also the best “protection” when one is hovering this close over the target. 

——

I don’t have the same covering as that afforded a reliable MSM journalist - as when @FBI had Newsweek’s @warkin release a one-year anniversary CYA story about their deployment of every 3-letter agencies’ tactical teams and military commandos with “shoot to kill” orders on J6.

——

So . . . I’m letting @FBI and @DeptofDefense know that I’ve now read three other friendly journalists, a team of think tank investigators, and several congressional staffers into the details of this story. “Whacking” me, to stop my work, will probably be counterproductive.

——

But, they are welcome to reach out to me and answer my questions. (I also have more.) I’m certain they already have my number. 

Stay tuned. More on this, and even more important J6 stories are in the pipeline. 

——

On Twitter, (or, X):

https://twitter.com/TPC4USA/status/1686907274692861952

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