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Imprisoned vBlogger Josh Wolf captured on video

by Howard Vicini
Bay Media Lab host Howard Vicini will present new video evidence during a Friday night broadcast on San Francisco cable access in the case against vBlogger Josh Wolf, who has been held in coercive confinement for more than 200 days, a new U.S. record for a journalist, for refusing to turn over raw video he shot of a San Francisco protest rally in 2005, that was subpoenaed by a federal grand jury. The live broadcast titled, “Freedom of Expression, New Challenges, New Sacrifice,” will feature discussion among media activists and journalists concerning the Wolf case and others that have resulted in journalists facing federal subpoenas and the prospect of jail time if they refuse.

JoshResponds.png JoshResponds2.png
Josh Wolf, video camera in hand, responding to police orders to move back after incident in which a police officer was injured.

NEW EVIDENCE SUPPORTS CLAIM VIDEO ENTHUSIAST WAS ACTING AS JOURNALIST

Imprisoned vBlogger Josh Wolf captured on video

covering protest in July 2005

San Francisco CA – Bay Media Lab host Howard Vicini will present new video evidence during a Friday night broadcast on San Francisco cable access in the case against vBlogger Josh Wolf, who has been held in coercive confinement for more than 200 days, a new U.S. record for a journalist, for refusing to turn over raw video he shot of a San Francisco protest rally in 2005, that was subpoenaed by a federal grand jury.

The live broadcast titled, “Freedom of Expression, New Challenges, New Sacrifice,” will feature discussion among media activists and journalists concerning the Wolf case and others that have resulted in journalists facing federal subpoenas and the prospect of jail time if they refuse.

Guests include Executive Director of Oakland-based Media Alliance, Jeff Perlstein; reporter & radio producer, Sarah Olson; Journalism Chair of the Bay Area Chapter of the National Writers Union, Richard Knee ; journalist & commercial media producer, Ralph Miller; reporter for the San Francisco Bay Guardian, Sarah Phelan; Josh Wolf's father, Len Harrison; and members of the Free Josh Wolf Coalition, Andy Blue, Julian Davis, Amy De Reyes, and Njeri Sims.

The newly-released video, previously only seen on the Internet, was shot by another vBlogger during the same 2005 protest and captures Wolf shooting his video in a manner, Vicini claims, consistent with Wolf's assertion that he was there as journalist covering the event, even responding at several points to police orders, clearly heard on the video, to move back.

This is significant according to Vicini because of statements, made in federal court by a federal prosecutor and the presiding judge in Wolf case, William Alsup, that called into question Wolf's status as a journalist.

Vicini will also present a prerecorded interview with the individual who shot the video in which she asserts that she and her partner were contacted at home by FBI agents twice before agents seemed to lose interest after the subpoena was served on Wolf. This, too, supports a claim by Wolf's lawyer, First Amendment advocate Martin Garbus who says the government isn't really after information about the alleged crimes committed at the demonstration.

According to Garbus, "This was the use of an FBI anti-terror law to get information on people they can't get information about, such as anarchists. They know he (Wolf) knows nothing about the actions involving the police car."

Quoted in the Annenberg USC Online Journalism Review, Garbus says what federal officials really want is to know is who the demonstrators are. He calls the prosecutors' actions, an "abuse of the grand jury," and an "expansion of the anti-terrorism investigation to other dissidents."

###

§Here is the show ...
by Howard Vicini
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Comments (Hide Comments)
My name is Gabe Meyers and recently I had charges dropped agaisnt me in SF superior court for my arrest at the now infamous demonstration that Josh Wold was filming at and police officer Peter Sheilds was injured at. IF you watch the last part of Josh's unedited posted video, you will see the a police officer holding a man on the ground with his arm wrapped around his throat in a chokehold position, with a crowd standing around scraeming 'stop choking him!' That man is me.
Despite Josh's video and a very graphic picture( that can be viewed in the police state section of indybay.org) of me in the choke hold with my face very brightly colored red showing obvious asphxiation, no legal or disciplinary action has been taken against this police officer, Michael Wolf, the partner of Peter Sheilds. Josh's video and pictures of me in the choke hold, are incriminating pieces of evidence of police brutality and that this police officer violated my civil rights. But despite a major investigation of the events of that night, a blind eye has been turned to this criminal misconduct of this cop.
To add insult to injury, for 15 months I was harrassed through the court system, being threatened to be taken to trial on a felony complaint of trying to 'lynch' myself; a term used to describe the removal of someone from the custody of the police. This all because Michael Wolf alleged that I said 'help me' while I was being strangled. The only person who should of been going to trial, in my opinion, is Wolf and I do not mean Josh.
And why was I under arrest in the first place? All because I dropped a large and thick styrofoam sign in front the patrol car that Wolf was riding in. This patrol car, the same one that is alleged to have tried to be set on fire by demonstrators and was driven by Sheilds who recieved a head injury, was driven into a crowd that I was part of at a approximated speed of about 30-35mph. This has been echoed by several eyewitnesses, including legal observers from the National Lawyers Guild who were present. This potential eyewitness testimony is what prompted local prosecutors to drop the case agasint me and avoid trial. In my opinion, dropping that sign which went under the wheels of the car was the only thing that prevented someone from being runover; including myself. This situation could of been alot messier than it already is, pun intended.
So while Josh Wolf sits in prison, two police officers that nerly took people's lives are walking free and working as servants of the people enforcing some of the most sacred laws in which they broke that night. I am not just saying this because it is some rumor that I heard or even something that I witnessed, I am saying this because I myself was nearly killed by their reckless actions; twice actually. First nearly runover and then strangled and choked. I, in no way, did anything criminal that night. In fact, I did something heroic and saved lives, all by dropping a large sign in order to run out of the way of a speeding car on a dark dim lit street. This has been well known by all investigating govermental bodies invovled with the events of this protest, and not one of them has done anything to about it. I believe that there has been a cover-up gong on in San Francisco since July of 2005 and people should be held accountable.
I recently wrote Josh in prison and said in the letter that to me Josh is a metaphor that a free media and press is locked up in this country, just as he is currently. The events of that night is no exception but rather a prime example. I hope that what I said in this comment box will be restated and eched tommorrow night on Howard Vincinni's show. Almost all of the coverage, in the corporate mainstram media that I have viewed, seems to not to mention anything about the actualality and creedance about the events of that night. There needs to be accountabilty in the media and I hope that Howard Vincinni can honor that on his show.

Sincerely,
Gabriel Meyers
by roknich (roknich (at) electromagnet.us)
Evidence will eventually be produced to conclusively prove that Josh's civil rights have been violated and the $ value will be quite high.
by poe
Yes - several dozen people witnessed the police car accelerate from the red light by the Shell station towards the group crossing the street at the crosswalk, and about 20 ft down from the crosswalk. They were not slowing down, and so the pedestrians had to leap out of the way, or they would have been hit. In fact, at first, people where I was standing actually did think that at least one person must have been struck by the car because you could hear and see that sign getting crunched, and this would imply that whoever was holding it also was hit by the car. a few seconds later when the officers jumped out of the car we shouted " no!" and "calm down!!"
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