Kansas prosecutor says police should return computers and cellphones seized in raid on newspaper
The Canadian Press
Wed, August 16, 2023
MARION, Kansas (AP) — A Kansas prosecutor said Wednesday that he found insufficient evidence to support the police raid of a weekly newspaper and that all seized material should be returned in a dispute over press freedoms that the White House acknowledged it is watching closely.
“This administration has been vocal about the importance of the freedom of press, here and around the globe,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said at her daily briefing on Wednesday. “That is the core value when you think about our democracy, when you think about the cornerstone of our democracy, the freedom of press is right there.”
She said the raid raises "a lot of concerns and a lot of questions for us.”
On Wednesday, Marion County Attorney Joel Ensey said his review of police seizures from the Marion County Record offices found “insufficient evidence exists to establish a legally sufficient nexus between this alleged crime and the places searched and the items seized."
“As a result, I have submitted a proposed order asking the court to release the evidence seized. I have asked local law enforcement to return the material seized to the owners of the property,” Ensey said in a news release.
The Kansas Bureau of Investigation said Monday it was leading the investigation into the raid and what allegedly prompted it.
Even without the computers, personal cellphones and other office equipment taken in the raid, the small staff scrambled and were able to put out a new edition on Wednesday.
“SEIZED … but not silenced,” read the front-page headline in 2-inch-tall typeface. On Wednesday's front page, stories were focused solely on the raid and the influx of support the newspaper has received.
Police raids last week of the newspaper's offices, and the home of editor and publisher Eric Meyer put the paper and the local police at the center of a national debate about press freedom, with watchdog groups condemning the police actions. The attention continued Wednesday — with TV and print reporters joining the conversation in what is normally a quiet community of about 1,900 residents.
Meyer said all of the returned equipment will be forensically audited to make sure that nothing is missing or was tampered with.
“You cannot let bullies win,” Meyer said. “And eventually, a bully will cross a line to the point that it becomes so egregious that other people come around and support you.”
He added, “We have a staff that’s very experienced, including myself, and we’re not going to take crap."
The raids — which the publisher believes were carried out because the newspaper was investigating the police chief’s background — put Meyer and his staff in a difficult position. Because their computers were seized, they were forced to reconstruct stories, ads and other materials. Meyer also blamed stress from the raid at his home for the death Saturday of his 98-year-old mother, Joan, the paper’s co-owner.
As the newspaper staff worked late into Tuesday night on the new edition, the office was so hectic that Kansas Press Association Executive Director Emily Bradbury was at once answering phones and ordering in meals for staffers.
Bradbury said the journalists and those involved in the business of the newspaper used a couple of old computers that police didn’t confiscate, taking turns to get stories to the printer, to assemble ads and to check email. With electronics scarce, staffers made do with what they had.
“There were literally index cards going back and forth,” said Bernie Rhodes, the newspaper’s attorney, who was also in the office. “They had all the classified ads, all the legal notices that they had to recreate. All of those were on the computers.”
At one point, a couple visiting from Arizona stopped at the front desk to buy a subscription, just to show their support, Bradbury said. Many others from around the country have purchased subscriptions since the raids; An office manager told Bradbury that she’s having a hard time keeping up with demand.
The raids exposed a divide over local politics and how the Record covers Marion, which sits about 150 miles (241 kilometers) southwest of Kansas City.
A warrant signed by a magistrate Friday about two hours before the raid said that local police sought to gather evidence of potential identity theft and other computer crimes stemming from a conflict between the newspaper and a local restaurant owner, Kari Newell.
Newell accused the newspaper of violating her privacy and illegally obtaining personal information about her as it checked her state driving record online. Meyer said the newspaper was looking into a tip — and ultimately decided not to write a story about Newell.
Still, Meyer said police seized a computer tower and cellphone belonging to a reporter who wasn’t part of the effort to check on the business owner’s background.
Rhodes said the newspaper was investigating the circumstances around Police Chief Gideon Cody’s departure from his previous job as an officer in Kansas City, Missouri. Cody left the Kansas City department earlier this year and began the job in Marion in June. He has not responded to interview requests.
Asked if the newspaper’s investigation of Cody may have had anything to do with the decision to raid it, Rhodes responded: “I think it is a remarkable coincidence if it didn’t."
___
Salter contributed to this report from O’Fallon, Missouri. Associated Press writer Darlene Superville contributed from Washington.
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Follow John Hanna on Twitter: https://twitter.com/apjdhanna
John Hanna And Jim Salter, The Associated Press
The Canadian Press
Wed, August 16, 2023
MARION, Kansas (AP) — A Kansas prosecutor said Wednesday that he found insufficient evidence to support the police raid of a weekly newspaper and that all seized material should be returned in a dispute over press freedoms that the White House acknowledged it is watching closely.
“This administration has been vocal about the importance of the freedom of press, here and around the globe,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said at her daily briefing on Wednesday. “That is the core value when you think about our democracy, when you think about the cornerstone of our democracy, the freedom of press is right there.”
She said the raid raises "a lot of concerns and a lot of questions for us.”
On Wednesday, Marion County Attorney Joel Ensey said his review of police seizures from the Marion County Record offices found “insufficient evidence exists to establish a legally sufficient nexus between this alleged crime and the places searched and the items seized."
“As a result, I have submitted a proposed order asking the court to release the evidence seized. I have asked local law enforcement to return the material seized to the owners of the property,” Ensey said in a news release.
The Kansas Bureau of Investigation said Monday it was leading the investigation into the raid and what allegedly prompted it.
Even without the computers, personal cellphones and other office equipment taken in the raid, the small staff scrambled and were able to put out a new edition on Wednesday.
“SEIZED … but not silenced,” read the front-page headline in 2-inch-tall typeface. On Wednesday's front page, stories were focused solely on the raid and the influx of support the newspaper has received.
Police raids last week of the newspaper's offices, and the home of editor and publisher Eric Meyer put the paper and the local police at the center of a national debate about press freedom, with watchdog groups condemning the police actions. The attention continued Wednesday — with TV and print reporters joining the conversation in what is normally a quiet community of about 1,900 residents.
Meyer said all of the returned equipment will be forensically audited to make sure that nothing is missing or was tampered with.
“You cannot let bullies win,” Meyer said. “And eventually, a bully will cross a line to the point that it becomes so egregious that other people come around and support you.”
He added, “We have a staff that’s very experienced, including myself, and we’re not going to take crap."
The raids — which the publisher believes were carried out because the newspaper was investigating the police chief’s background — put Meyer and his staff in a difficult position. Because their computers were seized, they were forced to reconstruct stories, ads and other materials. Meyer also blamed stress from the raid at his home for the death Saturday of his 98-year-old mother, Joan, the paper’s co-owner.
As the newspaper staff worked late into Tuesday night on the new edition, the office was so hectic that Kansas Press Association Executive Director Emily Bradbury was at once answering phones and ordering in meals for staffers.
Bradbury said the journalists and those involved in the business of the newspaper used a couple of old computers that police didn’t confiscate, taking turns to get stories to the printer, to assemble ads and to check email. With electronics scarce, staffers made do with what they had.
“There were literally index cards going back and forth,” said Bernie Rhodes, the newspaper’s attorney, who was also in the office. “They had all the classified ads, all the legal notices that they had to recreate. All of those were on the computers.”
At one point, a couple visiting from Arizona stopped at the front desk to buy a subscription, just to show their support, Bradbury said. Many others from around the country have purchased subscriptions since the raids; An office manager told Bradbury that she’s having a hard time keeping up with demand.
The raids exposed a divide over local politics and how the Record covers Marion, which sits about 150 miles (241 kilometers) southwest of Kansas City.
A warrant signed by a magistrate Friday about two hours before the raid said that local police sought to gather evidence of potential identity theft and other computer crimes stemming from a conflict between the newspaper and a local restaurant owner, Kari Newell.
Newell accused the newspaper of violating her privacy and illegally obtaining personal information about her as it checked her state driving record online. Meyer said the newspaper was looking into a tip — and ultimately decided not to write a story about Newell.
Still, Meyer said police seized a computer tower and cellphone belonging to a reporter who wasn’t part of the effort to check on the business owner’s background.
Rhodes said the newspaper was investigating the circumstances around Police Chief Gideon Cody’s departure from his previous job as an officer in Kansas City, Missouri. Cody left the Kansas City department earlier this year and began the job in Marion in June. He has not responded to interview requests.
Asked if the newspaper’s investigation of Cody may have had anything to do with the decision to raid it, Rhodes responded: “I think it is a remarkable coincidence if it didn’t."
___
Salter contributed to this report from O’Fallon, Missouri. Associated Press writer Darlene Superville contributed from Washington.
___
Follow John Hanna on Twitter: https://twitter.com/apjdhanna
John Hanna And Jim Salter, The Associated Press
Natalie Wallington
Wed, August 16, 2023
A prosecutor in Marion County, Kansas, has withdrawn the search warrant that sparked Friday’s controversial police raid of the small town’s newspaper offices.
Marion County Attorney Joel Ensey said in a statement Wednesday that the warrant was based on “insufficient evidence” that a crime had been committed. The seized electronics and documents will be returned to the Marion County Record.
The news followed days of criticism of the police search of the newspaper, which appeared to be aimed at finding evidence about how the paper obtained information that a local restaurateur, who applied for a liquor license, lost her driver’s license over a DUI in 2008.
In addition to the Record’s newsroom, the police also executed search warrants at the home of publisher and co-owner Eric Meyer and the home of Ruth Herbel, a Marion city councilwoman.
First Amendment advocates have said the raid went too far and violated legal protections for newsrooms.
Also Wednesday, new information was reported about the judge who signed the search warrant, who has her own history of drunken-driving arrests.
Here are the latest on developments following the raid on the Marion County Record:
Eric Meyer, the editor and publisher of the Marion County Record, stands outside the newspaper’s office on Monday. The office and Meyer’s home were raided by police on Friday.
Prosecutor orders seized materials to be returned to newspaper office
Marion County Attorney Joel Ensey has withdrawn the search warrant that led to Friday’s police raid. The warrant listed 15 categories of items police could seize on suspicion of “identity theft” and “unlawful acts concerning computers.”
Ensey said he concluded that “insufficient evidence” existed to establish a “legally sufficient nexus between this alleged crime and the places searched and the items seized.”
Bernie Rhodes, the Record’s lawyer who also represents The Star, said Wednesday that all the electronics police seized from the newsroom will be returned. But he argued that this is a small remedy to the harm caused by the raid.
“It does nothing about taking care of the damage that has already occurred from the violation of the First Amendment in the first place,” he told The Star.
Read more: Warrant for Kansas newspaper raid withdrawn by prosecutor for ‘insufficient evidence’
Magistrate Judge Laura Viar signed a search warrant that authorized Marion police to raid the Marion County Record’s newsroom and the home of the editor.
Judge who signed the warrant has her own DUI history
Magistrate Judge Laura Viar, who signed the warrant authorizing Friday’s raid, did so because of allegations that the newspaper had improperly obtained information about a local restaurant owner’s past DUI conviction.
But Judge Viar has a DUI history of her own. She has been arrested at least twice for driving under the influence in two different Kansas counties, an investigation by the Wichita Eagle reported Wednesday.
During a 2012 incident in Morris County, she allegedly drove off-road with a suspended license and crashed into a school building while under the influence. She was running unopposed for Morris County Attorney at the time — and won.
Viar was not sanctioned by the state’s attorney discipline board.
Read the investigation: Judge who approved raid on Kansas newspaper has history of DUI arrests
Marion locals react to the newspaper’s police raid
Tensions ran high in the small town of Marion on Tuesday as residents reacted to Friday’s raid. The newspaper has received support from around the country, including over 1,000 new digital subscriptions in the days since the raid alone.
One resident classified the paper’s coverage as “negative,” while another praised the paper for its watchdog reporting on local government and business issues.
“This newspaper is very good at investigative reporting,” he said.
Read more: Raided Kansas newspaper is known for aggressively covering small town’s many disputes
Vultures roosting on the water tower in Marion, Kansas.
KBI took over the investigation Monday
The Kansas Bureau of Investigation became the “lead law enforcement agency” in the investigation of the Marion County Record on Monday, The Star’s Jonathan Shorman reported.
KBI spokesperson Melissa Underwood told The Star that the agency will “review prior steps taken and work to determine how best to proceed with the case,” which involved a now-withdrawn search warrant suggesting that the newspaper’s offices contained evidence of identity theft and improper use of computers.
It’s unclear why the KBI, a state agency based in Topeka which provides advanced law enforcement services like forensic lab testing and special operations, took over this case.
Read more: KBI takes lead in Marion investigation following police raid of local newspaper
Marion, Kansas, Police Chief Gideon Cody
The newspaper had previously investigated Marion’s new police chief
The Record had previously investigated Marion’s new police chief, Gideon Cody, at the time of the raid. Cody had recently started the job after 24 years as a captain with the KCPD.
Editor and publisher Eric Meyer declined to comment on the exact nature of the investigation, but characterized “the charges as serious.” The paper informed city officials of allegations against Cody, but had not published anything about them at the time of the raid.
“I have already been vetted. They’ve (the newspaper) actually did a background on me. And that’s why they chose not to (publish a story),” Cody said in a Sunday interview with The Star.
“However, if they can muddy the water, make my credibility look bad, I totally get it. They’re gonna try to do everything they possibly can.”
Read more: Kansas newspaper raided, shut down by police had investigated chief who came from KCPD
The Star’s Luke Nozicka, Jonathan Shorman, Katie Moore, Glenn E. Rice and Judy Thomas contributed. The Wichita Eagle’s Chance Swaim contributed.
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