BlazeTV reporter investigated by CNN, suspended from Facebook and Instagram after documenting Capitol riots

CNN is investigating BlazeTV national reporter Elijah Schaffer for his live documentation of the riots at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, TheBlaze has learned.

What are the details?

Schaffer is the host of BlazeTV's "Slightly Offens*ve" and frequently travels around the country to capture protests and violent uprisings as they unfold. Video of the Capitol riots captured Wednesday by Schaffer and posted on his Twitter account have amassed tens of millions of views and have been requested for licensed use by most major media outlets.

But now CNN is reportedly looking into whether he violated the law by joining the crowd within the Capitol and filming rioters inside congressional offices.

"Thirty minutes ago, 45 minutes ago, now, I learned that CNN thinks it's worth using their precious resources now, to investigate Elijah [Schaffer], a credentialed reporter," said BlazeTV's Glenn Beck said Friday morning on his radio show. "They have started digging around, trying to call his family and all his past colleagues, to find out, who he really is."

At the time of his reporting, Schaffer claims he was there in a professional capacity and carrying congressional press credentials, allowing him to follow rioters into the Capitol and document the events. He added that law enforcement present at the scene had no problem with him being there to report on the events.

TheBlaze has reached out to CNN for comment about the investigation, but has yet to receive a reply.

What else?

Beck also mentioned on-air that Schaffer's Facebook and Instagram accounts had been removed.

Schaffer confirmed the news on his Twitter account, which he still access to, Friday afternoon, saying both accounts had been "permanently suspended" without explanation. Both accounts were later reinstated after publication of this article, again without explanation.

"It was mostly just pictures of my wife, dog and memories of my mom who recently died But big tech is relentless," he said. "Reporting the truth is now illegal."

Anything else?

Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell (Calif.) — who recently garnered attention for his past unwitting involvement with a Chinese spy — was one of the first to take issue with Schaffer's reporting and Thursday attempted to alert the FBI to his activity.

"Dear @FBI, meet @ElijahSchaffer," Swalwell tweeted in regards to a screenshot of a post showing Schaffer filming rioters inside the congressional office of Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Calif.).

BlazeTV President Gaston Mooney responded to the tweet, saying, "He was on the ground as a credentialed reporter documenting everything in real time. Almost every major network/wire service has used these videos & he has done a huge service for law enforcement. Where was the mainstream media? Elijah deserves praise."

Editor's Note: This article has been updated to reflect that Schaffer's Facebook and Instagram accounts were reinstated shortly after the article's publication.