Oversight
Journalism Is Under Unprecedented Assault
Recent controversies involving both Julian Assange and the San Francisco police show the First Amendment is under dire threat
In San Francisco — the supposed progressive bastion that holds itself up as the antithesis to President Trump — the local police, with the help of elected officials, are targeting a journalist and violating his rights with a fervor that would make Trump jealous. San Francisco residents should be outraged that the city is so egregiously violating press freedom under their names.
A little less than two weeks ago, law enforcement authorities in San Francisco raided the home of Bryan Carmody, a freelance journalist. Brandishing their guns, they cuffed Carmody and confiscated thousands of dollars of reporting equipment. He stayed in handcuffs for six hours before being released, as authorities searched his house and attempted to interrogate him under the guise of a leak investigation. Weeks earlier, Carmody had sold a story — based on a leaked police report, video footage, and a few interviews — about the death of a local public defender to TV stations.
It was an appalling violation of the First Amendment, yet the initial response from local legislators — many of whom regularly…
