Merrick Garland recently warned the nation’s courts that they would be sending “thousands” of additional cases involving people who were allegedly part of the January 6 riot at the Capitol building. The DoJ didn’t waste any time making good on that promise, bringing charges yesterday against Elliot Resnick in New York City. But Resnick’s case comes with a twist. He doesn’t deny that he was in the Capitol Building that day, but he was the editor of The Jewish Press, an Orthodox Jewish newspaper in the Big Apple. He was covering the rally and the subsequent incursion of the building. So how are they justifying the arrest of a member of the media? Resnick allegedly “grabbed the arm” of a Capitol Hill Police officer briefly when he was pepper spraying some of the protesters. (Associated Press)

A former top editor of an Orthodox Jewish newspaper in New York City was arrested Thursday on charges that he interfered with police officers who were trying to protect the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 riot.

Elliot Resnick, 39, was chief editor of The Jewish Press when he joined the crowd of Donald Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, according to an FBI agent’s affidavit.

Videos show Resnick grabbing and holding the arm of a Capitol police sergeant who was spraying a chemical irritant to prevent rioters from entering the building, the affidavit says. Another officer tried to remove Resnick’s hand from the sergeant’s arm, the agent wrote.

Resnick was charged with civil disorder and “interfering with law enforcement.” I suppose that’s technically true and he broke one of the fundamental rules of journalism. You’re there to cover the story, not make yourself a part of the story.

But with that said, in any normal criminal proceeding this would almost certainly have been ignored. He was adjacent to an officer who was spraying a chemical irritant into the faces of protesters, and Resnick obviously succumbed to a human impulse to stop him. The officer clearly wasn’t injured and suffered nothing more than a momentary inconvenience.

Beyond that, however, we shouldn’t discount the fact that Resnick was a member of the press. The original rally was already an obvious story of interest and the incursion at the Capitol Building was clearly historic in nature no matter how you view the actions of the rioters. But if you’re waiting for an outcry from all of the journalists at legacy media outlets, don’t hold your breath. You can rest assured that they won’t be riding to this editor’s defense or decrying any abuses of the freedom of the press.

Resnick’s arrest is just the latest reminder coming from Joe Biden’s Justice Department that they plan to track down every single person who was present at the Capitol that day and do their level best to lock them up for as long as possible. They have shown almost zero interest in prosecuting anyone who participated in the BLM riots or the arsonists from Jane’s Revenge who burned down crisis pregnancy centers. But if you’re viewed as a Trump supporter, no mercy or quarter will be offered. Dissent is not tolerated.

For the record, Resnick left The Jewish Press in January of 2021. The other editors at the paper have continued to support his presence there as part of the press corps.