Independent journalist Josh Wolf has become the longest incarcerated journalist in U.S. history. As of Thursday, he had served 171 days in jail.

He refuses to hand over footage he shot in July 2005 of a San Francisco globalization protest to a grand jury.

From the Feb. 8 L.A. Times story:

One police officer was injured in the anti-globalization protest that Wolf filmed in July 2005, and outgoing U.S. Atty. Kevin Ryan's office is investigating whether protesters tried to torch a police car. Prosecutors argue that because federal money helped pay for the police car, the matter should be heard in federal court. Ryan spokesman Luke Macaulay said the grand jury needed the video to "determine what, if any, crimes were committed."

In a statement posted on his blog Tuesday, Wolf -- who sold some of his footage to San Francisco television stations -- explained his decision not to comply with the grand jury's request.

"If the U.S. attorney can compel journalists to testify about what they've learned through their work and to force them to turn over their unpublished materials, then not only will the public be unable to trust reporters, but journalists themselves will become de facto deputies and investigators," read the message attributed to Wolf at joshwolf.net.

Supporters contend that his case is similar to that of two San Francisco Chronicle reporters, Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams, who face up to 18 months in federal prison for refusing to cooperate with subpoenas to name their confidential sources for leaked grand jury testimony about steroid use in major league baseball. Last month, two congressmen called on Atty. Gen. Alberto R. Gonzales to withdraw those subpoenas.

California, like several other states, has a shield law that protects journalists employed by news organizations from having to disclose unnamed sources or produce unpublished materials. That state law does not apply to Wolf, however, because his case is being tried in federal court. ....

Today marks Wolf's 171st day in jail. The previous record for incarceration of a journalist was held by freelance writer Vanessa Leggett, who spent 168 days in federal custody in Houston for refusing to turn over notes about a murder investigation.

Here's a video interview the inimitable Amanda Congdon did with Wolf in September.

This Jan. 22 PJNet post has some good stuff in it.

Here's some excerpts of an Aug. 3, 2006 San Franscisco Chronicle editorial:

JOSH WOLF is an imperfect martyr for freedom of the press. The 24-year-old freelance journalist from San Francisco makes no pretense of being fair and balanced. He is a self-proclaimed anarchist. Advocacy, not objectivity, appears to be his driving motivation. "The revolution will be televised," his Web site promises.

But the First Amendment was not crafted just to protect the mainstream media. One of its clear aims was to allow journalists to do their jobs without government regulation or interference.

It's hard to think of a more basic measure of a free country than the ability of people to demonstrate against government policies -- and the freedom of journalists to edit and disseminate their accounts of such events. ...

He may not have the clout or journalism credentials of some of the other government targets, but Josh Wolf is no less entitled to First Amendment protection. Each day he remains incarcerated represents another small dent in this nation's basic freedoms.