Kansas Police Raid on Local Newspaper Was Unwarranted: DA

Less than a week after Kansas police raided the offices of a local newspaper, seizing computers and other items, the county attorney has declared the raid was unwarranted.

Marion County Attorney Joel Ensey concluded Tuesday that “insufficient evidence” exists to establish a “legally sufficient nexus between this alleged crime and the places searched and the items seized," according to Kansas City Star reporter Luke Nozicka.

Ensey reportedly withdrew the search warrant and ordered the items returned to the Marion County Record.

“I’m told the Marion County attorney has withdrawn the search warrant and has released the seized items from Marion County Record to the attorney for the newspaper who has a forensics expert in Marion on standby,” KHSB Jessica McMaster reporter tweeted on Wednesday.

Marion Police officers raided the Marion County Record and the homes of three different people last weekend, seizing electronic devices. The raids were sparked by local restaurant Kari Newell accusing the newspaper and a city councilwoman of “illegally” obtaining personal information about her.

One of the homes raided was that of 98-year-old Joan Meyer, who was co-owner of the newspaper. She died the next day, reportedly from the stress of what happened.

The Kansas Bureau of Investigation, which is spearheading the case, stated the investigation will continue, but that none of the evidence seized by the police will be examined.

The Marion County Record went back into distribution on Wednesday with a front page headline that simply read “SEIZED … but not silenced."

Newell, who owns Chef's Plate at Parlour 1886, was at an Aug. 7 city council meeting to apply for a liquor license. The newspaper obtained information about her getting a DUI years earlier, which could have potentially revoked a liquor license. 

When Newell took the podium for her agenda item, she immediately began accusing the newspaper and councilwoman Ruth Herbel of spreading information that was unlawful to share.

“My concern is that a council member would recklessly and negligently share that information with others, without doing her due diligence making sure that the information they were sharing was at least legal to share,” Newell said at the meeting.

Record publisher Eric Meyer, who was at the meeting, said information sent to his office about Newell was delivered via social media from a source he couldn’t confirm got the information legally. The newspaper chose not to publish it.

“We were concerned it was obtained illegally,” Meyer said. “We received it from someone on a social media message. We consulted an attorney on whether it was privileged information. Our attorney's advice was no."

Meyer also said he received information from anonymous sources that Marion Police Chief Gideon Cody left his job as a police officer in Kansas City amid sexual misconduct allegations.

Meyer said it was some of Cody’s former colleagues who sent him the information, but that they wished to remain anonymous. He didn’t publish a story on the chief because their investigation was incomplete.

“We didn't publish it because we couldn't nail it down to the point that we thought it was ready for publication,” Meyer said.