Blogger Jailed! Update on Josh Wolf
Wednesday, August 2nd, 2006
Anthony and Larry both blogged about Josh Wolf, a San Francisco videoblogger who captured an anti-globalization protest and the resulting tumult involving protesters and police. When last we heard about Wolf, he was facing incarceration for refusing to turn over his video of the incident. An update today, via Huffington Post’s Eat the Press (where, full disclosure, I do some blogging):
Freelance journalist and blogger Josh Wolf was jailed yesterday for refusing to release a videotape he took at a protest and after refusing to testify before a grand jury.Wolf, 24, was taken into custody yesterday and “could be imprisoned until next summer, when the grand jury term expires, said his lawyer, Jose Luis Fuentes.”
If you’d like to help Josh by donating to his legal fund, visit his blog.
Thanks for posting Alex. I sent the kid some $ for his legal defense. He’s fighting the good fight here. It’s very important for all independent journalists to stand up for the same rights “mainstream” journalists have - though, their rights are disappearing as well.
From what I can tell, “mainstream” journalists would be subject to the same kind of treatment. California has a shield law, but this is in Federal court, so it doesn’t apply. It’s yet another reason for everyone to pay attention to this - it’s not just those crazy bloggers whose freedoms are at stake here, but the rights of every journalist. (And thus, I’d argue, every American.)
All true. Though, as a U. of Minnesota law professor told friend o’ SMITH Jesse McKinely of the NYT, it’s all about who gets prosecuted and who doesn’t:
“There is a tendency on the part of the prosecutors to go aggressively after people not perceived to have a big gun behind them. They are the most vulnerable links in the chain.”