FBI Whistleblower Goes Nuclear After Arrest Of Conservative Reporter: ‘Just ‘Good Germans’ At This Point’

FBI whistleblower Steve Friend delivered a passionate rebuke of his former employer in response to the arrest of Blaze News reporter Steve Baker, calling the agents who signed off on the arrest “just ‘good Germans’ at this point.”

Friend — a 12-year veteran of the bureau — was suspended after he refused to take part in a SWAT-style raid on a January 6 suspect who was facing misdemeanor charges in the summer of 2022. “I have an oath to uphold the Constitution,” Mr. Friend, a 12-year veteran of the bureau, told his supervisors when he declined to participate in the raid on August 24, 2022. “I have a moral objection and want to be considered a conscientious objector.”

Friend, along with other FBI whistleblowers, has continued to speak out against the bureau and DOJ abuses since his suspension. On Friday, he joined Blaze News founder Glenn Beck to discuss the arrest of Steve Baker, an investigative reporter with the outlet who has done multiple stories on the events of January 6.

“Our own reporter was arrested today. Do you have any thoughts on that?” Beck asked.

“I have quite a few,” Friend replied. “Steve Baker is a friend of mine as well and I’m just completely taken aback by the fact that the FBI and the weaponized government that we’re seeing every day is using all the levers of power to make the process the punishment for someone like Steve Baker, who has had Domocles’ sword hanging over his head for the last three plus years, the FBI now saw fit to use a judicial complaint to bring him into custody, which necessitated his actual arrest.”

The FBI whistleblower went on to say that the arrest and perp walk of Baker — who agreed to surrender on the low-level misdemeanors he is charged with — was part of the FBI’s intention to “make the process the punishment.”

He then referred to the agents who signed off on the arrest as “just ‘good Germans at this point,” a reference to people who participated in repression in Nazi Germany because they were “just following orders.”

“They are doing the bidding of the political left in order to push this narrative that people like Steve who are just obeying the Constitution, doing what a journalist does, and putting them in a cage so that they can make their pension,” Friend said.

Baker was instructed by FBI agents to show up to his arrest in shorts and flip flops. When asked if this is standard FBI procedure, Friend said that it was not, adding that it was done to add extra humiliation and “rub his nose in it.”

“This is, again, my complaint that I go back to for the last year and a half. It is not the duty of the FBI to be the judge, jury, and the executioner,” he said. “It is their duty to follow the process, a fair process. You gather the facts, you present them, and then that person has their day in court. But what we’re seeing now is the FBI is intent on making the process the punishment and they’re interested in getting the W, whether or not that’s a punishment at court or afterwards with a conviction.”

Baker was informed that he would be charged for entering the Capitol on January 6 earlier this week after a months-long saga. He agreed to surrender at the FBI field office in Dallas, which he did on Friday morning.

Upon arrival, Baker was handcuffed and perp walked inside the building. He was later dressed in an orange jumpsuit and restrained with hand and leg shackles for his appearance before a judge. All this was done for four misdemeanor trespassing violations such as picketing in a government building.

Baker’s attorney, William Shipley, said he had never heard of FBI arrests and perp walks for misdemeanors until January 6, nor were the defendants subjected to such treatment after voluntarily surrendering. “In 21 years I never — not one time — charged a misdemeanor. I had plenty to keep me busy charging felonies,” Shipley wrote in an X post.

In a follow-up post, Shipley asked former law enforcement officers if they had ever heard of such conduct over the course of their own careers.

“25 years in the FBI – four field offices and two FBIHQ assignments- I’m not even aware of an FBI investigation that involved a misdemeanor charge/arrest, much less how it was handled. This is 100% DOJ driven,” said former FBI agent and officer F.X. Regan. Another FBI whistleblower, Kyle Seraphin, also confirmed that this was never done during his time with the bureau.

To any federal LEO or prosecutor, past or present:

Have you EVER had a misdemeanor offender who agreed to voluntarily appear in court for an initial appearance – and does so – then be cuffed for transport to court and THEN CUFFED TO A BELLY CHAIN IN COURT?

EVER?

— Shipwreckedcrew (@shipwreckedcrew) March 1, 2024