Local Blogger Josh Wolf Jailed for Mission Protest Video

posted by violet blue at 1:36 PM on August 02, 2006

Yesterday local indy media blogger Josh Wolf was put in jail for refusing to hand over a video to the federal government that he shot at last summer's G8 protest in the Mission District. This is the the first instance in which a blogger has been pursued and eventually jailed by federal authorities. Josh was at the protest shooting video to blog -- as he feels the same as many of us, that corporate media is tired and dying, and it's up to us citizens to go out and record the world around us. The protest got out of hand, as protests sometimes do, and fireworks were set off, and a police officer was hit in the head. But after Josh posted part of the video he shot on his blog, the feds showed up *at his house*, demanding the entire tape and not saying why -- but that because Josh's video contained federal property in it, they had a right to it.

Josh refused, and in his incredible presentation I saw at Vloggercon 2006, explained that he was concerned about the feds' intentions -- worried that they might be indiscriminately compiling antiwar, "terrorist" group lists. Josh is 24, and a friend. So now... shoot a video locally and go to jail? Our lame-duck SFGate has its head stuck up its ass because they're defending the mainstream media with an article the totally sidesteps the story (ha!), but CNet is on it.

"Back at the car, Shields attempted to arrest someone lighting fireworks under the vehicle, igniting the foam underneath. Another protester then struck Shields from behind. By the time Officer Wolf returned to the vehicle, his partner was bleeding profusely from the head, the victim of a fractured skull.

Local law enforcement has charged three protesters with misdemeanors. The federal government now seeks justice on behalf of Shields, as well as investigating the damage to his vehicle.

Because he was videotaping Officer Wolf at the time, it's improbable that Josh Wolf's tape also contains footage of Shields being hit on the head or of fireworks being placed under the patrol vehicle. The Justice Department is likely looking for something else that may be on his tape, though they won't divulge what that something is.

Wolf doesn't want to give up the complete, unedited version of the tape. He believes the federal government is indiscriminately monitoring antiwar groups under suspicion of terrorism, and as a journalist he shouldn't be forced to surrender unused footage in support of that investigation. He won't say, though, what's on the 15 or more minutes of the confidential portion of video."

Follow Josh's story at Independent Media News. This affects *all of us*. Josh's site is down, but keep checking for his court documents [on Josh's blog].

Photo of Josh in action via burningdove.

http://sf.metblogs.com/archives/2006/08/local_blogger_josh_wolf_jailed.phtml