Josh Wolf is Free

So this is kind of old news, but there is a good summary in the Bay Guardian this week. Here was my take on it:

I'm really glad Josh is out of prison and I hope he's enjoying his freedom! I wanted to share some thoughts I wrote out in response to a question from a friend and solicit more input from others. My friend asked whether this was the best possible outcome. I replied ...

It's hard to say. In some ways it is a victory, but there has been a split in Josh's supporters for awhile about whether he should publish his entire video online. For some this was the ideal solution because it single-handedly put information out to the public without directly giving it to the U.S. Attorneys, and there isn't anything on it that implicated anyone anyway. On the other hand, the point isn't whether there is anything important on the tape, the point is that if a journalist chooses to edit out certain portions of a tape for public dissemination, the Feds shouldn't have the power to compel that journalist to produce those materials, whether directly or indirectly.

Also, even if it doesn't appear that there is anything on the video that implicates anyone, that doesn't mean that the Feds won't use it to further their agenda of silencing dissent. For example, there may be someone on the video they are building a completely separate case against, involving an entirely different event or alleged conspiracy. Who knows. They used video of Osama Bin Laden to prosecute Lynne Stewart; they will do whatever they can to prosecute and go after political opponents.

The main victory here is that it wasn't easy for the U.S. Attorneys to get what they wanted (or at least some of what they wanted), and it certainly cost them a lot of time and money to get something that may or may not be helpful to them. Also Josh's case has raised a lot of issues for people that were not understood or discussed before his case, and may result in positive political change. Also, he's kind of a hero and perhaps his willingness to put his life on hold for so long and go to prison will inspire others to do the same in the future if, I mean when, the Justice Department goes after others.

Those are my thoughts right now. I think it is a partial victory, but I certainly don't fault Josh for anything. He did a lot more than most people, even most activists, would be willing to do. Our job now is to push for a federal shield law and continue to talk about what a waste of time and tax dollars this whole debacle has been.