More than 30 news organizations have banded together to condemn Friday’s police raids on the Marion Country Record in Marion, Kansas. The journalism group, which is being led by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, wrote in part, “Newsroom searches and seizures are among the most intrusive actions law enforcement can take with respect to the free press, and the most potentially suppressive of free speech by the press and the public.”
Emily Bradbury, the executive director of the Kansas Press Association, pledged her group’s support of the news organizations. As she bluntly told The Washington Post, “This shouldn’t happen in America. Freedom of the press is fundamental to our democracy. … We’re not going to let this stand on our watch.”
Bradbury added, “No matter what side of the aisle you’re on, everyone should be concerned [about] government overreach and trying to silence investigative work.”
Police raids of this nature don’t happen often in the United States and many believe the raid was illegal. This particular raid may also have had a catastrophic impact on Joan Meyer, the 98-year-old co-owner of the Record. Meyer died on Saturday, one day after raids were carried out on the newspaper’s offices and Meyer’s home.
The raid on the family-owned weekly paper is believed to have been the result of an ongoing legal case between Kari Newell, a local restaurant owner, and her estranged husband. On Monday, Newell appeared at a city council meeting and alleged that the Record had illegally obtained drunken driving information about her and that the outlet had shared that information with vice mayor Ruth Herbel.
The Record had been given information that indicated Newell was driving without a valid license but had decided against publishing anything about the matter. Newell has asserted that she believes her ex-husband is the person who gave the information to the Record in the first place.
According to the Post, at the time of the raid, the Record had also been conducting an investigation into Police Chief Gideon Cody on allegations of sexual misconduct at his former job. The paper had not run any information about the investigation, but the records are among the information that Marion police seized.
The exact reason for the raid remains unknown, and so far an affidavit hasn’t been released by a Marion judge. On Saturday, the city’s police department released a lengthy statement on Facebook addressing questions that have been raised about why the raid was carried out.
The post read in part, “The Marion Kansas Police Department believes it is the fundamental duty of the police is to ensure the safety, security, and well-being of all members of the public. This commitment must remain steadfast and unbiased, unaffected by political or media influences, in order to uphold the principles of justice, equal protection, and the rule of law for everyone in the community.”
The statement concluded, “The victim asks that we do all the law allows to ensure justice is served. The Marion Kansas Police Department will nothing less.”
