POW - Josh Wolf

It was over six months ago that I found myself led out of a courtroom bound in handcuffs and shackles and taken to a Federal Prison in Dublin. As of today I’ve spent over 168 days in here and given Judge Alsup’s recent ruling it doesn’t seem likely that I’ll be getting out any time soon.

I never thought this would happen. I grew up being taught that the United States was the greatest country on earth. That dissent was not only permitted but encouraged, and that we had a free press that was not encumbered by government interference. This is so longer the case. One night I went to sleep in a free America, but I woke up in a police state. It’s hard to say when this transformation transpired; many would contend that it began shortly after September 11th, some would argue that it wasn’t until lies led us into the War in Iraq, and still others would say we started down this road soon after the American Revolution. I’m not sure who is right, but I do know that the process of waking up to this grim reality has been a painful one.

Many have asked me why I’ve chosen to sacrifice my personal freedom, and there are a multitude of reasons why I have taken the stance that I have. Most pressing is the fact that a free press in a democracy cannot act as an extension of the justice department. This can be summed up nicely with the words of Amy Goodman who recently stated “we’re supposed to be the fourth estate not for the State.”

If the U.S. Attorney can compel journalists to testify about what they’ve learned through their work and to force then to turn over their unpublished materials then not only will the public be unable to trust reporters but journalists themselves will become defacto deputies and investigators–a role few of us want and one I have refused to accept. This is not a new construct, it is one that dates back to the founding of our country and is one that is guaranteed under the First Amendment of our Constitution.

Thomas Jefferson once stated, “Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate to prefer the latter,” And with these words I must wonder exactly how he’d feel about the people who took to the street on July 8th, 2005 in protest of a government they fell no longer represents then and how he’d feel about the media that covers their struggle.

The second reason compelling me to refuse to cooperate with the Grand Jury subpoena is that this whole thing is not about what the government would have you believe it to be. This case is not about a videotape, it’s not about identifying suspects of a crime and it’s not about obtaining justice. If it were, then the U.S. Attorney would not have argued against the judge reviewing my outtakes in his chambers and the U.S. Attorney would have been more receptive to the inquires my defense team made.

No, this case is not about a videotape and it’s not about justice. This entire matter is about eroding the rights of privacy and those of a free press. It is about identifying civil dissidents and using members of the news media to actively assist in what is essentially an anarchist witchhunt. This is what I have suspected from the beginning, but it has been brought closer into focus with the government’s recent response to our motion. I will not allow myself to be put in a position of outing anarchists who likely are guilty of nothing more that possessing political beliefs outside the American norm.

How many of the freedoms promised to us in the Bill of Rights are still intact? How many more liberties will be eroded away? The future is uncertain, but at present the military continues to wage war in Iraq in the name of freedom. I don’t know whether to laugh or cry at the tragic irony of it all.

The role of the media is to ask the questions, to point at those inconsistencies, and to demand answers from the powers that be. This is why the media is under attack and this is why it is so urgent that we continue to fight back. Because without a free press we can never be free.

And I’ll conclude with the word of Mario Savio that defined the Free Speech Movement some 40 years ago and still possesses a tremendous vitality today. On December 2, 1964, in the city of Berkeley, Savio stated, “There’s a time when the operation of the machine becomes so odious, makes you so sick at heart, that you can’t take part, you can’t even tacitly take part. And you’ve got to put your bodies upon the gears and upon the wheels, upon the levers, upon all the apparatus, and you’ve got to make it stop. And you’ve got to indicate to the people who run it, to the people who own it, that unless you’re free, the machine will be prevented from working at all.”

Thank you, and I look forward to returning back to San Francisco just as soon as the government comes to its senses and realizes that I will not- that I cannot be coerced.

Thanks again,

Josh Wolf

Please write letters to Josh while he is in prison and consider maintaining correspondence with him for the duration of his incarceration. Letters are his best connection to the outside world and do a great deal to lift his spirits. We need to let Josh know that we are thinking of him and supporting his courageous and important stand. Please read the following regulations carefully before sending him a letter.

Josh's Address:

Joshua Selassie Wolf 98005-111
Federal Detention Center, Unit J2
5675 8th Street
Dublin CA 94568

Mail Regulations:


All letters must have a return address on the envelope.
Please also put a return address on the letter itself, as prisoners are almost never given the envelopes.
Keep in mind that all mail is read by authorities. Please do not discuss cases, charges or issues relating to either.
Pictures are allowed, but must be 4x6 size or smaller. No Polaroids.
Avoid using white-out, stickers, tape, colored ink/paper or glitter.
Written correspondence and drawings may be in pencil, standard ink pen, typewritten, or computer generated. No felt pens, markers, crayon, or colored pencil, etc.
All personal artwork must be in black & white, copied pages can be in color.
PLAIN cards are allowed
Most facilities do not allow torn pages from books, magazine or newspaper clippings. Photocopies, however, are accepted
Please remember that, even if unsolicited, mail can still result in sanctions against a prisoner.

Independent journalist Josh Wolf spent his 169th day in jail today, setting a new record for the longest imprisoned journalist in US history. Josh is being held in contempt of court for refusing to release unedited video footage to a grand jury investigating a political demonstration against the G8 held in San Francisco in June 2005. The following audio was recorded at a press conference on the steps of San Francisco City Hall.

Length: 00:34:57
File Info: 24Kbps mp3 (6.05MB) Mono