WASHINGTON—Attorney General Merrick Garland’s move last month to limit Justice Department probes of journalists is facing an early test from an unlikely source: a federal judge overseeing a criminal case against a talk-show host on Infowars, a right-wing website known for touting discredited conspiracy theories.
In an order made public Tuesday, U.S. Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui said prosecutors refused to answer on the record whether they had complied with the department’s updated media policy when seeking a warrant to arrest the talk-show host, Owen Shroyer, for his alleged involvement in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.
“The events of January 6th were an attack on the foundation of our democracy,” the judge wrote. “But this does not relieve the Department of Justice from following its own guidelines, written to preserve the very same democracy.”
Prosecutors had provided enough evidence to warrant Mr. Shroyer’s being put on criminal trial, Judge Faruqui wrote, but they wouldn’t lay out their reasons for determining that Mr. Shroyer wasn’t a member of the news media.
“The Department of Justice appears to believe that it is the sole enforcer of its regulations,” the judge concluded. “That leaves the court to wonder who watches the watchmen.”
