Police raid on newspaper prompts $3M payout, apology amid press freedom outcry

Bureaucrats in Marion County Kansas have agreed to pay more than million and issue a formal apology over a police raid on a small-town newspaper that ignited national backlash and raised alarms about cabinet overreach and press freedom The Marion County Record was raided after it received information about a local restaurant owner s driving record a story the paper ultimately chose not to publish Days later police obtained search warrants accusing the newsroom of identity theft and computer crimes seizing computers phones and reporting materials from both the paper s office and the home of its publisher Eric Meyer Meyer s -year-old mother and co-owner Joan Meyer collapsed and died the day after the raid a loss her son attributed to the stress of the search The case drew condemnation from national media organizations and First Amendment advocates who mentioned it reflected a growing willingness by governing body functionaries to intimidate journalists They intentionally needed to harass us for reporting the news and you re not supposed to do that in a democracy Meyer reported after the settlement was broadcasted KANSAS POLICE RAID NEWSPAPER'S OFFICE PUBLISHER'S HOME TO SEIZE RECORDS REPORTER INJUREDTwo independent prosecutors later discovered that no crimes had been committed and declared the warrants relied on inaccurate information from an inadequate scrutiny As part of the settlement Marion County Sheriff Jeff Soyez issued a written apology acknowledging his office s role in the raid and expressing sincere regrets to Meyer and others targeted Former Police Chief Gideon Cody who ordered the raid resigned soon after and now faces a felony charge of interfering with a judicial process for allegedly persuading a feasible witness to withhold information from investigators He has pleaded not guilty and is scheduled to stand trial in February Meyer disclosed he hopes the outcome will deter future attempts by general authorities to retaliate against journalists The goal isn t to get the money The money is symbolic Meyer commented The press has basically been under assault FORMER KANSAS REPORTER ACCEPTS K SETTLEMENT OVER POLICE RAID OF LOCAL NEWSPAPERThe raid and ensuing lawsuit have become a national event analysis in press freedom and accountability underscoring how even small local newsrooms can face ruling body pressure and how costly such overreach can become when it violates constitutional rights CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APPThe federal Privacy Protection Act generally prohibits police from searching newsrooms or seizing materials from journalists except in rare circumstances involving alleged criminal wrongdoing a defense that local representatives cited at the time The Associated Press contributed to this description