President Donald Trump made good on a major campaign promise Monday, issuing a "full, complete and unconditional" pardon for most Jan. 6 defendants, whom he referred to as political "hostages." Citing the need for further study of their cases, he issued commutations for over a dozen Oath Keepers and indicated that they too might ultimately see full pardons.

Among the estimated 1,500 individuals overall who will benefit from Trump's pardons is Blaze News investigative journalist Steve Baker, who covered the Jan. 6 protests and riots for his blog, the Pragmatic Constitutionalist.

Baker expressed profound gratitude to the 47th president in a Blaze Media exclusive Monday, highlighting the significance of the pardons and the "nightmare" they have ended.

"You have to forgive me if I'm a little bit emotional about what's happening right now," said Baker. "The pardons, commutations from President Trump — they don't just affect my life, they affect those of hundreds, hundreds, hundreds of people who have been far more egregiously affected by the weaponization of the Biden DOJ — call it whatever you want to."

'I'm going to start drunk-texting my FBI agent again.'

Baker was arrested in March 2024, pleaded guilty to four misdemeanor charges in November to "avoid the shaming exercise of the trial," and was set to hear his sentence in March.

The journalist noted that whereas he suffered a seemingly interminable series of sleepless nights, "so many others lost everything. They lost their homes. They lost their families. They lost their wives, their husbands. They lost their jobs. They lost their careers."

Baker suggested that the so-called justice system waged a campaign of "over-weaponization," "over-prosecution," and "over-sentencing of people who did not do anything other than just walk through an open door at the Capitol on Jan. 6."

Unlike the rioters given a relative pass for inflicting billions of dollars of damage on the nation in 2020, Baker noted that Jan. 6 defendants' lives were destroyed in many cases for briefly entering the Capitol, looking around, and snapping a few selfies.

Some of those whose lives were destroyed amid the politically charged lawfare campaign did not live to enjoy a pardon from Trump. Like Nejourde "Jord" Meacham, Mark Aungst, and Christopher Georgia, Matthew Perna took his own life in the face of the Biden DOJ's weaponized prosecution. According to his obituary, the "constant delay in hearings, and postponements [that] dragged out for over a year" broke Perna's heart and spirit. The previous year, former U.S. Marine John Anderson, another Jan. 6 defendant awaiting charges, similarly perished — just eight months after getting married.

"Thank God President Trump has come forward. He's not only pardoning those who did nonviolent, glorified trespassing, for God's sakes — that walked through and they waved a Trump flag or they said, 'USA, USA, USA' or 'stop the steal,' even," said Baker."

Audibly overwhelmed, Baker said, "Thank you, President Trump, for ending this nightmare for so many people. Thank you."

Baker noted on X Tuesday what he plans to do now that he's pardoned: "I'm going to travel tomorrow without notifying my federal pretrial services officer"; "I'm going to pick up my firearms"; "I'm going to start drunk-texting my FBI agent again"; and "there will be 'ex parte' communication with [U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper]."

While Baker, other Jan. 6 defendants, and their family members are elated over the news that the "nightmare" is over, top Democrats and their fellow travelers in the liberal media have reflexively descended into fits of rage. Those who reserved similar judgment in recent days and weeks for former President Joe Biden's last-minute pardons and commutations for family members, cop-killers, child-rapists, and other controversial figures have recycled well-worn claims that clemency for nonviolent protesters could incentivize right-wing violence and that the pardons are somehow unprecedented.

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