Former President Donald Trump has pleaded not guilty to four felony charges accusing him of attempting to overturn the 2020 election results. While a trial featuring the former president would appeal to many viewers, including some members of Congress, federal criminal courts prohibit the presence of cameras or recording devices in the courtroom.

Straight Arrow News contributor Jordan Reid says now is the time to bend the rules. Reid lays out crucial reasons why watching the trial unfold in real-time, instead of relying on interpretations of potentially biased journalists, is so important.

First, and to my mind, most importantly, we have grown into a culture where the press is deeply partisan. Fox, obviously, but, come on, your choice of mainstream news outlet will very likely impact your mindset on important issues up to and including the guilt of the former president.

So being able to watch those proceedings live, to unpack the evidence for ourselves, to hear testimony with our own ears, at least somewhat, assuages the risk that citizens will simply hear information from third parties.

Of course, of course, newscasters will still put their own spin on the recap of the day’s proceedings. That’s inevitable, but offering people the opportunity to see the evidence for themselves is unquestionably a step in the right direction.

Second, the trial is going to be a circus. Even if Trump supporters don’t show up en masse — which, given recent precedent, they just might not — the press is going to be just sheer madness outside that courthouse and some feel that if a single livestream camera is present in the courtroom, feeding live to various channels, that’ll take away some of the pandemonium, which, maybe, I don’t know.