Free Republic

...San Francisco police (SFPD) raided the home of a freelance journalist on Friday, handcuffed him for hours and confiscated his devices in an apparent effort to uncover a police leak to the reporter. The state’s leading newspapers, along with first amendment advocates across the US, have decried the raid as an extraordinary and flagrant violation of press freedoms. But as pressure on the city has intensified in recent days, Democratic leaders have chosen to explicitly endorse the police investigation and tactics, criticize the journalist – or remain entirely silent about mounting free speech concerns. “What happened was unlike anything I’ve...

After police came into his home, officers handcuffed him for six hours as they collected his equipment. The search warrant for his home said officers were investigating “stolen or embezzled” property. It was unclear whether he was handcuffed because of the guns he says he legally owns. Carmody said the guns were locked in a safe, and he said that over the hours-long search, it was evident officers didn’t view him as a threat. At one point, some police took off their bulletproof vests on account of the heat, he said. While he was shackled, officers got a second warrant...

Bryan Carmody, a freelance reporter in San Francisco, awoke Friday to the sounds of someone trying to break into his house.

Noticeably missing from San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee's lengthy introduction of the city's "official family" at Friday's funeral of two firefighters was public defender and pension reform advocate Jeff Adachi. That's because Adachi, who had been standing with other dignitaries at the memorial outside of St. Mary's Cathedral, was asked to leave before the service started.According to witnesses, a large firefighter in uniform came up to Adachi and asked him to leave, at the request of a member of the fallen firefighter's family.When asked about the incident, Adachi confirmed that he had been asked to leave. "I had gone to...

The execution of Crips Gang founder and convicted murderer Stanley “Tookie” Williams on December 12th generated an inordinate amount of hysteria from anti-death penalty forces, not to mention the mainstream media coverage, which, as always, skewed leftward. The vigil that took place outside San Quentin on the night of Williams’ execution was attended by such ubiquitous liberal celebrities as actor Mike Farrell, folksinger Joan Baez, and professional race-baiter Jesse Jackson. Brows were beaten, tears were shed, and Governor Schwarzenegger was lambasted for denying Williams clemency. Apparently, all it takes is writing (or more likely having ghost-written) several children’s books and...