As a sympathetic forum for radical groups, Los Angeles' KPFK-FM found itself with two prized scoops after the May 17 shootout between L.A. police and six members of the Symbionese Liberation Army. The first was a three-page statement from the "Weather Underground." The group claimed credit for bombing an office of the state attorney general as a token of support for the S.L.A. Then came a tape-recorded message from Patricia Hearst and two other S.L.A. survivors (TIME, June 17).
KPFK played the tape for other news organizations and gave copies to the FBI and local police. But the FBI, which had earlier subpoenaed the "Underground" memo, demanded the original S.L.A. tape and whatever wrappings had accompanied it. KPFK General Manager Will Lewis, 42, refused, arguing that a broadcast station has no obligation to be "an agent of law enforcement." Haled before a federal grand jury looking into the S.L.A. and other underground groups, Lewis was granted immunity from prosecution by U.S. District Judge A. Andrew Hauk and told that he must answer all questions and provide the tape and memo or be cited for contempt.
Lewis insisted that he could not violate the "confidentiality" of the station's sources and claimed that the grand jury was "fishing" for information in the hope of connecting KPFK with S.L.A. radicals. The judge replied that the station had learned of the tape and the memo by anonymous phone calls and that "no promise, no agreement" had been made by anyone at KPFK to keep information secret. The judge then found Lewis in contempt of court and ordered him jailed immediately.
Unlikely Fugitive. Lewis could have remained at the Terminal Island prison throughout the grand jury session, and its term might be extended to September 1975. Last week a three-judge panel denied a stay of Lewis' contempt citation and rejected his appeal for bail.
Lewis' attorney then appealed to Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas, who on July 4 ordered Lewis released "pending decision of his appeal."
The Pacifica Foundation, the nonprofit organization that owns KPFK, as well as radio stations in San Francisco, New York and Houston, is supporting Lewis on the ground that the constitutional issue in the case must be tested.
Lewis' 14-day sojourn in prison does seem harsh. KPFK colleagues point out that it is unusual for a judge to jail someone and deny bail while a constitutional issue is being appealed. Lewis, after all, is hardly a direct menace to society, nor is he likely to become a fugitive.