A Durham man who could face charges for his role in the U.S. Capitol attack on Jan. 6, 2021, says that time and perspective have him seeing the events of that day differently.
Steve Baker spoke openly with WRAL Investigates about going to the Capitol on that day, but he claims he was only there to document what happened. He's a conservative political commentator who writes under the moniker "The Pragmatic Constitutionalist."
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He claims he was at the Capitol, including inside after security was breached, as an "independent journalist."
Baker recorded video for hours as the frustrated crowd streamed from the National Mall to the Capitol. He says that’s where things got ugly, “and I continued to document that video until it got too violent for me where I was,” he said.
A year later, he spoke to WRAL Investigates from the scene of the siege, saying his perspective on what happened has certainly changed.
"I got some things wrong because what I reported on that night was what I saw with my own eyes," he said.
Watching video from other viewpoints, he came to realize crimes were committed.
"Those officers were getting the crap kicked out of the. Absolutely, it was wrong," he said.
Still, Baker defends his presence, saying, "I didn't do any violence. I didn't do any cat calling at the law enforcement officers."
Federal prosecutors have indicated to Baker that he still may be charged. He was trespassing once he was inside the Capitol, and they may charge him with interstate racketeering because he sold his video from that day.
"I have no regrets," Baker says.
While he calls most in the mob protesters, not insurrectionists, Baker also doesn't buy the election was stolen. He recognizes Joe Biden as the President of the United States.
With a year to reflect, the man in the middle of it all still questions why the U.S. Capitol was so unprepared for the crowd. He also downplays the threat to democracy.
"That doesn't mean that they didn't commit crimes. That doesn't mean that they didn't do some really bad stuff, but, democracy easily survived that day," he said.