Journalists give $30,000 to defend jailed vlogger

The Society of Professional Journalists board of directors voted 23-0 at a conference last week to award a record $30,000 grant to jailed independent journalist Josh Wolf's defense fund.

One of the Internet's earliest video bloggers, Wolf, 24, refused to testify before a U.S. grand jury and also refused to hand over unpublished video footage he shot during a clash between San Francisco police and anti-G8 protesters in July 2005. He was found in civil contempt and sent to a federal prison in Dublin, Calif., on Aug. 1. He could remain there until the grand jury term expires next July.

Wolf might normally be protected by California's shield law. But federal prosecutors, who among other things want to see if Wolf's footage shows a San Francisco police car being set on fire at the protest, say they have jurisdiction over the case because the car was paid for in part by federal dollars. (Click here for video. Note: Contains some profanity.)

"That's ludicrous," Under that scenario, a child who breaks a window at any public school in America could be accused of a federal crime," SPJ President David Carlson said in a statement. "This case is evidence of a disturbing trend in which federal prosecutors are attempting to turn journalists into arms of law enforcement. It cannot be allowed to continue."

The grant is the largest ever awarded from the SPJ's legal defense fund. The SPJ had already donated $1,000 to Wolf's defense fund last month. Wolf's lawyers at Siegel & Yee in Oakland, Calif., have agreed to cap fees at $60,000.