Media giants raise freedom of the press concerns after police in the Kansas town of Marion raided a local newspaper office and the home of its publisher last week, seizing equipment and records.
Marion’s police department was accused on Aug. 11 of violating First Amendment protections after officers raided the offices of the Marion County Record and the home of its owners.
The raids on the family owned paper took place after a warrant was issued and signed by a local judge.
The owner and publisher, Eric Meyer, said on the newspaper’s website that four Marion police officers and three sheriff’s deputies participated in the two raids, seizing personal cell phones, internet routers, and computers.
Freedom of the Press Violated in Raid
The publisher told Axios on Aug. 14 that he plans to file a federal lawsuit over the raid, which he said contributed to the death of his 98-year-old mother and co-owner, Joan Meyer.Ms. Meyer, who was “otherwise in good health for her age,” died at her home Aug. 12, after becoming “stressed beyond her limits” over “illegal police raids,” he said
“Our first priority is to be able to publish next week,” said Mr. Meyer in a statement, “but we also want to make sure no other news organization is ever exposed to the Gestapo tactics we witnessed today.”
He plans to file a suit “to establish a clear precedent that this sort of behavior cannot be tolerated.”
A reporter for the Record stated on Facebook that she was injured in the raid, which she called “chilling.”
“The chief of the Marion, Kansas Police Department, Gideon Cody, forcibly yanked my cell phone out of my hand, so heads up that I will be without it (my phone, not my hand) for a while,” reporter Deb Gruver wrote on Facebook.
Mr. Meyer told The New York Times that he had never experienced government pressure like this.
“If we don’t fight back and we don’t win in fighting back, it’s going to silence everybody,” he said.
US Press Community Protest Local Kansas Police Raid
The raid was widely condemned by major news organizations and journalism advocacy groups, who are supporting the Marion County Record, which has a circulation of about 4,000.Over 30 major news organizations and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press (RCFP) wrote a letter to the chief of the Marion Police Department on Aug. 13, saying there “appears to be no justification for the breadth and intrusiveness of the search.”
“[T]he police raid of the Marion County Record on Friday appears to have violated federal law, the First Amendment, and basic human decency,” said Seth Stern, director of Advocacy for Freedom of the Press Foundation, in a statement following the raid on the paper.
The media coalition and major press organizations argued that the raids infringed on the paper’s rights and may have violated federal law that restricts law enforcement’s ability to conduct newsroom searches.
“We are shocked and outraged by this brazen violation of press freedom by authorities in Marion County, Kansas. Local law enforcement agencies reportedly searched the offices of the Marion County Record and the home of its publisher, and seized reporting materials including computers and cell phones, injuring a reporter’s finger in the process, said the National Press Club in a statement.
“We are deeply concerned that a Kansas judge issued a search warrant authorizing this search even though the federal law clearly requires authorities to use subpoenas rather than search warrants if they seek to access records of a news organization in the course of an investigation.
“A law enforcement raid of a newspaper office is deeply upsetting anywhere in the world. It is especially concerning in the United States, where we have strong and well-established legal protections guaranteeing the freedom of the press.
“This search violated the rights of the journalists at the Marion County Record to serve their community by gathering and reporting the news. We stand by the Marion County Record in its efforts to continue publishing despite the seizure of important reporting material and equipment.”
Well-Connected Figure Supported by Local Law Enforcement
The raids took place following a complaint from local restaurant owner Kari Newell, who accused the Marion County Record of illegally obtaining and disseminating sensitive information on a drunken driving conviction against her, reported the Kansas Reflector.The search warrant, which was viewed by The Epoch Times, identified several pages of items that law enforcement officers were allowed to seize and was related to Ms. Newell’s case.
The paper responded that it had legally obtained the information from a tip and used public online records to verify details, but decided against publishing the information and instead contacted the police.
However, the paper still wrote about Ms. Newell, confirming her conviction during a city council meeting, according to Axios.
Meanwhile, the politically connected Ms. Newell also had Mr. Meyer and a reporter, Phyllis Zorn, removed from an event at her restaurant last week with U.S. Rep. Jake LaTurner (R-Kansas), reported the Kansas Reflector.
Ms. Newall told The New York Times in an interview that her privacy had been violated, and framed the controversy as part of an attempt to protect her privacy from the newspaper rather than as a First Amendment fight.
“There’s a huge difference between vindictive and vindication,” Ms. Newell said.
“I firmly believe that this was a vindictive move, full of malice. And I hope in the end, I receive vindication.”
Relations between the press, politicians, and local law enforcement officials have been increasingly strained over the past decade, according to data from the U.S. Freedom Transfer.
There have been several recent cases of local authorities aggressively cracking down against local news organizations, as journalists face increasing pressure nationwide not report on certain topics.
Marion Police Defends Actions Against Town Paper
Marion police chief Gideon Cody told The Epoch Times in an emailed statement that he could not give details of what he said was a criminal investigation, but explained that there are exceptions to a subpoena, namely when “there is reason to believe the journalist is taking part in the underlying wrongdoing.”“I believe when the rest of the story is available to the public, the judicial system that is being questioned will be vindicated,” Mr. Cody said.
The police chief told Axios that the federal Privacy Protection Act “does protect journalists from most searches,” and said that it does not apply “when there is reason to believe the journalist is taking part in the underlying wrongdoing.”
In a statement obtained by The Epoch Times, the Marion Police Department said in its defense, “[The] victim asks that we do all the law allows to ensure justice is served,” and the department will do “nothing less.”
The department said it “believes it is the fundamental duty of the police is to ensure the safety, security, and well-being of all members of the public” and that its commitment to doing so 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.”
