A police vendetta

Faced with public criticism of their abusive search of journalist Heather du Plessis-Allan's home for exposing police muppetry, the police are doubling down, accusing her of a serious crime and saying she could go to prison. Yes and no. Pretty obviously, firearms offences are serious and punishable by jail. At the same time, if the police think that it is in the public interest to prosecute, that a jury would convict, or that a judge would impose a sentence of imprisonment for a non-violent offender engaged in public interest journalism, they are simply batshit insane. Instead, this whole thing looks like a police vendetta against a journalist who exposed their failings - and the more the police pursue it, the more it undermines respect for both them and the rule of law.