Josh Wolf released

The world's most controversial blogger, Josh Wolf, was released from prison yesterday after handing over the raw footage of the video that landed him the 8-month lock-up. Judge William Alsup was finally content as he had “all the materials sought in the subpoena.”

Wolf's raw footage was subpoenaed last February as part of a federal investigation of damage caused during riots at a G8 summit protest in San Francisco. Wolf captured the riots on tape and posted them to his blog, The Revolution Must be Televised. You can watch the video here. While it doesn't highlight the alleged damage to a police car, it displays police brutality that sent a shiver up my spine.

In addition to the scorn received for his ethics, the media continues to question, even after his release, if Wolf is in fact a journalist. However, the Society of Professional Journalists, Reporters without Borders, and other advocacy groups stand firm in their position that Wolf is a journalist.

“Josh gave up his freedom for 224 days because he believes that a free and independent press cannot exist without a trusting relationship between a journalist and his information sources,” said Lucie Morillon of Reporters Without Borders.

In his first post back from prison, Wolf maintains that his case was more than an investigation about damage to a police car. In a previous phone interview with Democracy Now!, Wolf termed his case a "witch hunt." He claimed that the federal government has targeted the anarchist community of San Francisco and intends to try them as terrorists.

Though he had been stripped of his freedom for 8 months, Wolf believes he was released on his terms. He did not testify nor appear before a grand jury, which he considers a victory. He wrote:

"After two rather strenuous sessions of mediation, we at last came to an agreement that not only leaves my ethics intact but actively serves the role of a free press in our so-called free socieity [sic]."

via NYTimes