County in Kansas agrees to pay $3M, apologize for newspaper raid
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Officials in Marion County, Kansas, have agreed to pay more than $3 million and issue a formal apology over a 2023 police raid on a small-town newspaper that sparked national outrage and raised alarms about government overreach and freedom of the press.
It was raided after the Marion County Record received information about a local restaurant owner’s driving record; the newspaper ultimately chose this story Negative publish. Days later, police obtained search warrants charging the newsroom with identity theft and computer crimes; He seized computers, phones, and news materials from both the newspaper’s office and the home of its publisher, Eric Meyer.
Meyer’s 98-year-old mother and co-owner, Joan Meyer, collapsed and died the day after the raid; a loss his son attributes to the stress of the search. The incident was condemned by national media outlets and First Amendment advocates who said it reflected a growing willingness by government officials to intimidate journalists.
“They deliberately wanted to harass us for reporting the news, and you shouldn’t do that in a democracy,” Meyer said after the settlement was announced.
POLICE IN KANSAS RAIDED JOURNALIST’S OFFICE AND PUBLISHER’S HOME TO SEEK RECORDS; REPORTER WAS INJURED
Authorities in Marion County, Kansas, agreed to pay more than $3 million and apologize for a law enforcement raid on a local weekly newspaper in August 2023. (AP)
Two independent prosecutors later found that no crime had been committed and said the arrest warrants were based on inaccurate information from an “inadequate investigation.”
As part of the agreement, Marion County Sheriff Jeff Soyez issued a written apology acknowledging his office’s role in the raid and expressing “sincere regret” to Meyer and others who were targeted.
The raid led to five federal lawsuits against the county, the city of Marion and local officials. (AP Photo/John Hanna, File)
Former Police Chief Gideon Cody, who ordered the raid, resigned soon after and is now accused of interfering with the judicial process for allegedly convincing a potential witness to withhold information from investigators. The man, who has pleaded not guilty, is scheduled to go to trial in February.
Meyer said he hoped the outcome would deter future attempts by public officials to retaliate against journalists.
“The goal is not to get the money. The money is symbolic,” Meyer said. “The press is fundamentally under attack.”
FORMER KANSAS REPORTER ACCEPTED 235 THOUSAND DOLLARS PAYMENT TO LOCAL NEWSPAPER, DESPITE POLICE PRESSURE
The newspaper’s publisher, Eric Meyer, said he hoped the ruling would be significant enough to deter future actions against news organizations. (AP)
The raid and subsequent trial became a national case study in press freedom and accountability; It underscored how even small local newsrooms can face government pressure and how costly such overreach can be when it violates constitutional rights.
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The federal Privacy Protection Act generally prohibits police from searching newsrooms or seizing journalists’ materials except in rare cases involving allegations of criminal wrongdoing; this was a defense stated by local officials at the time.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
