Insurrectionist Spotlight: Anthime Gionet, aka Baked Alaska, in court today

[soothsayer]

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Zoe Tillman
@ZoeTillman
·
Jun 4, 2021
Hello again from virtual court, this time before Mag. Judge Harvey in the case of J6 defendant Anthime Gionet, who prosecutors have also accused of running afoul of his pretrial release conditions. See:

Zoe Tillman
@ZoeTillman
Late night inbox action: Govt supports request by Pretrial Services to impose stricter conditions on J6 defendant Tim Gionet — incl. home detention and a ban on posting videos — after a recent video where he appears to threaten a friend and calls the cops https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/20797003/6-2-21-us-response-anthime-gionet.pdf…





Zoe Tillman
@ZoeTillman
Gionet's atty filed a response disputing he'd violated any release condition, saying he needs to make videos for the web to earn a living, and calling probation's request for stricter conditions "asinine" https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/20797643/6-3-21-anthime-gionet-response.pdf…





Zoe Tillman
@ZoeTillman
·
Jun 4, 2021
Replying to @ZoeTillman
(Disclosure again that Gionet is a former BuzzFeed employee, also known by the nickname "Baked Alaska&quot

Zoe Tillman
@ZoeTillman
Pretrial services officer isn't giving many details, but says it appears Gionet has been "agitating" various situations and coming into contact with law enforcement. Officer notes that he's been banned from a Starbucks in Arizona for a year (for unspecified reasons)


Zoe Tillman
@ZoeTillman
·
Jun 4, 2021
Replying to @ZoeTillman
Pretrial services officers from AZ says while Gionet didn't technically violate any specific release conditions, they're worried about his danger to the community because he's posting videos showing him trying to agitate and offend and provoke violent responses

Zoe Tillman
@ZoeTillman
AUSA says that Gionet has come right up to the line of violating his release conditions, noting that a police report during one of his encounters with law enforcement notes they considered arresting him for disorderly conduct due to "combative" behavior

Gionet's lawyer focuses on the fact that so far no one is saying he actually violated any release conditions, stresses that Gionet had contacts with law enforcement because he called the cops after a friend hit him

Zoe Tillman
@ZoeTillman
Gionet's lawyer says making videos is his only source of income (govt wants a posting ban), and says govt is trying to chill him from calling police when in danger.

Govt notes Gionet filmed encounters with police to create "viral content" and used "unwitting" cops as "extras"

Gionet's lawyer questions why they're even in court when no one is alleging he actually violated his release conditions. Judge replies that they're there because Gionet *recorded it all and put it on the internet*

Zoe Tillman
@ZoeTillman
Conclusion: Judge won't bar Gionet from posting videos online, but will order him to report all future contacts with law enforcement (as a reminder of his situation) and says he can't have any guns/weapons in his home, given propensity for trying to provoke assaultive conduct

Zoe Tillman
@ZoeTillman
·
Jun 4, 2021
Replying to @ZoeTillman
Judge makes pretty clear he's over Gionet's schtick. He said he watched the video at issue and called it "inane," and sighed deeply before telling Gionet that he can call police if he needs to, but the concern was about him provoking events leading up to him calling the police

Zoe Tillman
@ZoeTillman
Gionet says something muffled on the line re: the call to police being part of a "prank," which the judge did not take kindly to. His lawyer says it was a reference to Gionet's detractors making false reports. Judge basically says whatever, you need to report all future contacts