Josh Wolf - Jailing and 1st Amendment - City Hearing August 10, 2006

WHAT: Hearing on the First Amendment and the jailing of Josh Wolf
WHERE: City Hall room 263

The Bush administration has taken it's assault on the freedom of the press to San Francisco. On August 1st, video journalist Josh Wolf was jailed for refusing to hand over video footage of a 2005 WTO protest to a federal grand jury.

The incident in question involves damage to an SFPD cruiser, but the federal government is intruding into San Francisco's jurisdiction by using the pretext that the SFPD receives federal funding.

Even more troubling is the precedent this ruling sets: that the government can seize journalists' notes and materials at any time. This would have a chilling effect on the ability of the press to investigate the government.

Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi invites you to participate in a public hearing on a resolution calling for the federal government to respect the First Amendment guarantee of a free press. The hearing will be in the Rules Committee on Thursday, August 10th at 10am in City Hall room 263.

The Chronicle published an editorial with the headline "Free Josh Wolf:"
http://tinyurl.com/hy87c

For the latest information on Josh Wolf, go to his website:

Official Website: http://www.joshwolf.net/blog/