Josh Wolf is the videoblogger who is in jail for refusing to hand over his videotapes to the Grand Jury. He won several awards tonight and didn’t get a chance to give an acceptance speech. So, his mom transcribed this and sent it to us, which I’m running here in full:
It seems like mere moments ago that I was here in this
venue for blogger con. I remember telling my story
about how the federal government was trying to send me
to prison for refusing to turn over my unpublished
material and testify in front of a grand jury for
asserting that I am a journalist, and for refusing to
be an agent for the government by providing
intelligence to aid in an anarchist witch hunt. Some
were shocked by my story, others were not surprised
that the government would go to such lengths, and
still others maintained disbelief, preferring to think
of me as the boy who cried wolf, rather than opening
themselves up to the idea that their government would
do such a thing.
That weekend at vlogger con was one of the best in my
life. It was euphoric getting to hang out and party
with so many stellar individuals, and I am
disheartened that I can only join you in sprit to
tonight. I’ve always heard that the best par t of
award shows are the after parties and I’m sure that it
will be a rocking good time. I’ll be there for the
next one.
Thanks for the awards guys. It feels good to know that
I’ve been able to stir up a bit of controversy in the
blogosphere and I’m touched by being awarded best male
blogger
I’d like to thank everyone who has blogged or vlogged
about my situation, whether you are in agreement with
what I’m doing or not, and I’d also like to thank
everyone who has supported me throughout this
endeavor, whether its through sending me books or
letters, donating money to my legal fund or helping
out with my blog, wiki or the various projects I’ve
been involved with.
Thank you all and have fun tonight I’ll be out soon
enough
Scobleizer 