Kansas newspaper says it investigated local police chief prior to newsroom raid
1 year, 4 months ago

Kansas newspaper says it investigated local police chief prior to newsroom raid

NPR  

Kansas newspaper says it investigated local police chief prior to newsroom raid Enlarge this image toggle caption John Hanna/AP John Hanna/AP The small-town Kansas newspaper raided by police officers on Friday had been looking into allegations of misconduct against the local chief just months ago, according to the paper's publisher, raising further concerns about the law enforcement officers' motives. The Marion County Record conducted "routine background checks" in the lead-up to police chief Gideon Cody's start-date, according to Meyer. Meyer said the police chief "has reason to not like us," but he stressed that he didn't know if there was a connection between his paper's reporting and the raid. Erosion of police transparency Prior to Cody's tenure as police chief, the Marion police department had upheld a decades-long practice of releasing a list of the department's routine activities each week, Meyer said.

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History of this topic

Former police chief who raided Kansas newspaper returns to face criminal charges
2 months, 2 weeks ago

Former police chief who raided Kansas newspaper returns to face criminal charges

Raw Story  

MARION — Former Marion Police Chief Gideon Cody returned Monday to the town where he raided a newspaper to face a dozen journalists along with a felony charge for his actions after the raid. Monday’s hearing, which lasted less than 10 minutes, was Cody’s first public appearance in the town since he resigned as police chief amid intense scrutiny in …

Ex-Kansas police chief who led raid on newspaper charged with obstruction of justice
4 months, 1 week ago

Ex-Kansas police chief who led raid on newspaper charged with obstruction of justice

LA Times  

A stack of the Marion County Record sits in the back of the newspaper’s building in Marion, Kan., last year after a raid at the newsroom. A former central Kansas police chief who led a raid last year on a weekly newspaper has been charged with felony obstruction of justice and is accused of persuading a potential witness for an …

Prosecutors’ report on Marion newspaper raid leaves questions dangling
4 months, 2 weeks ago

Prosecutors’ report on Marion newspaper raid leaves questions dangling

Raw Story  

If you read special prosecutors’ report about last year’s raid on the Marion County Record newspaper, the abuse of power by law enforcement sounds like an immaculate deception. It reads in part: “Even though agents did not play a role in executing the search warrants, on Sept. 19, 2023, agents attended additional training presented by the Kansas County and District …

Special prosecutors plan to file criminal charge against cop who led KS newspaper raid
4 months, 2 weeks ago

Special prosecutors plan to file criminal charge against cop who led KS newspaper raid

Raw Story  

TOPEKA — Special prosecutors plan to charge former Marion Police Chief Gideon Cody with a low-level felony for his actions following the raid he led last year on the Marion County Record and the homes of the newspaper publisher and a councilwoman. “The evidence strongly suggests they genuinely believed they were investigating criminal acts.” The report also clears Marion County …

Prosecutors plan to charge former Kansas police chief over his conduct following newspaper raid
4 months, 2 weeks ago

Prosecutors plan to charge former Kansas police chief over his conduct following newspaper raid

Associated Press  

TOPEKA, Kan. — Two special prosecutors said Monday that they plan to charge a former central Kansas police chief with obstruction of justice over his conduct following a police raid last year on the local weekly newspaper. Prosecutors Marc Bennett and Barry Wilkerson concluded in their 124-page report that the staff at the Marion County Record committed no crimes before …

Former reporter settles part of her lawsuit over a police raid on a Kansas newspaper for $235,000
5 months, 2 weeks ago

Former reporter settles part of her lawsuit over a police raid on a Kansas newspaper for $235,000

Associated Press  

TOPEKA, Kan. — A former reporter for a weekly Kansas newspaper has agreed to accept $235,000 to settle part of her federal lawsuit over a police raid on the paper that made a small community the focus of a national debate over press freedoms. The settlement removed the former police chief in Marion from the lawsuit filed by former Marion …

Kansas lawmakers want a report on last year’s police raid of a newspaper
11 months ago

Kansas lawmakers want a report on last year’s police raid of a newspaper

Associated Press  

TOPEKA, Kan. — Dozens of Kansas lawmakers launched an effort Tuesday to direct the state’s attorney general to release information from an investigation into a police raid last year on a weekly newspaper, but it wasn’t clear that their measure would get a hearing in the Republican-controlled Legislature. He said when no one is charged with a crime, “Then our …

Things to know about the resignation of a Kansas police chief who led a raid on a small newspaper
1 year, 2 months ago

Things to know about the resignation of a Kansas police chief who led a raid on a small newspaper

Associated Press  

TOPEKA, Kan. — A Kansas police chief who led an August raid on a small weekly newspaper seemed to have the support of most city leaders in the weeks since the search, despite public outcry and calls for his resignation. Then body camera video of the Aug. 11 search of the Marion County Record was released — and it appeared …

Police raid on Kansas newspaper appears to have led to a file on the chief, bodycam video shows
1 year, 2 months ago

Police raid on Kansas newspaper appears to have led to a file on the chief, bodycam video shows

The Independent  

The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Body camera video from …

The police chief who led a raid of a small Kansas newspaper has been suspended
1 year, 2 months ago

The police chief who led a raid of a small Kansas newspaper has been suspended

LA Times  

Copies of the Aug. 16 edition of the Marion County Record after the raid at the Kansas newspaper. The police chief who led a highly criticized raid of a small Kansas newspaper has been suspended, the mayor confirmed to the Associated Press on Saturday. Vice-Mayor Ruth Herbel, whose home was also raided Aug. 11, praised Cody’s suspension as “the best …

Opinion: Claiming a ‘computer crime’ shouldn’t give police a free pass to raid newspapers
1 year, 3 months ago

Opinion: Claiming a ‘computer crime’ shouldn’t give police a free pass to raid newspapers

LA Times  

Local authorities seized computers and cellphones from the home and office of the publisher of the Marion County Record in Kansas. Instead, the Marion case highlights a separate, systemic threat to press freedom: vague and sweeping computer crime laws, which exist in all 50 states. The search warrant in that case listed violations of statutes covering identity theft and “unlawful …

Marion Kansas newspaper raid: Why did this happen? The editor has an idea.
1 year, 4 months ago

Marion Kansas newspaper raid: Why did this happen? The editor has an idea.

Slate  

On Friday, Aug. 11, the entire police force of Marion, Kansas, raided the offices of the local newspaper, the Marion Record, along with the home of the paper’s 98-year-old publisher, Joan Meyer, seizing every computer and phone in both buildings. After several days of nationwide furor and the launch of a state investigation, the county attorney withdrew the search warrant …

Documents say police believe the raided Kansas paper broke the law to get records. The paper disagrees
1 year, 4 months ago

Documents say police believe the raided Kansas paper broke the law to get records. The paper disagrees

Associated Press  

The police chief who led the raid of a Kansas newspaper alleged in previously unreleased court documents a reporter either impersonated someone else or lied about her intentions when she obtained the driving records of a local business owner. But reporter Phyllis Zorn, Marion County Record Editor and Publisher Eric Meyer and the newspaper’s attorney said Sunday that no laws …

A raid on a Kansas newspaper likely broke the law, experts say. But which one?
1 year, 4 months ago

A raid on a Kansas newspaper likely broke the law, experts say. But which one?

Associated Press  

TOPEKA, Kan. — A central Kansas police chief was not only on legally shaky ground when he ordered the raid of a weekly newspaper, experts said, but it may have been a criminal violation of civil rights, a former federal prosecutor added, saying: “I’d probably have the FBI starting to look.” Some legal experts believe the Aug. 11 raid on …

A raid on a Kansas newspaper likely broke the law, experts say.
1 year, 4 months ago

A raid on a Kansas newspaper likely broke the law, experts say.

LA Times  

A stack of the latest weekly edition of the Marion County Record sits in the newspaper’s building, awaiting unbundling and distribution. A central Kansas police chief was not only on legally shaky ground when he ordered the raid of a weekly newspaper, experts said, but it may have been a criminal violation of civil rights, a former federal prosecutor added, …

Kansas prosecutor says police should return computers and cellphones seized in raid on newspaper
1 year, 4 months ago

Kansas prosecutor says police should return computers and cellphones seized in raid on newspaper

Associated Press  

MARION, Kansas — A police raid that drew national attention to a small Kansas newspaper over threats to press freedoms wasn’t supported by evidence, a prosecutor said Wednesday, as the paper’s staff scrambled to print its first weekly edition since their cellphones and computers were seized. On Wednesday, Marion County Attorney Joel Ensey said his review of police seizures from …

Kansas prosecutor says material seized in police raid of newspaper should be returned
1 year, 4 months ago

Kansas prosecutor says material seized in police raid of newspaper should be returned

LA Times  

Surveillance video shows police officers confiscating computers and cellphones from the offices of the Marion County Record in Kansas on Friday. The prosecutor in Marion County, Kansas, said Wednesday that police should return all seized material to a weekly newspaper that was raided by officers in a case that has drawn national scrutiny of press freedom. Joel Ensey said his …

Why is a police raid on a newspaper in Kansas so unusual?
1 year, 4 months ago

Why is a police raid on a newspaper in Kansas so unusual?

The Independent  

The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Police said they had probable cause …

EXPLAINER: Why is a police raid on a newspaper in Kansas so unusual?
1 year, 4 months ago

EXPLAINER: Why is a police raid on a newspaper in Kansas so unusual?

Associated Press  

NEW YORK — Tensions between public officials and the press are hardly unusual. Within two days, the raid drew the attention of some of the nation’s largest media organizations, including The Associated Press, The New York Times, CNN, CBS News, the New Yorker and the Gannett newspaper chain. Meyer also believes the newspaper’s aggressive coverage of local issues, including the …

Editorial: Raid on Kansas newspaper was possibly illegal — and definitely troubling
1 year, 4 months ago

Editorial: Raid on Kansas newspaper was possibly illegal — and definitely troubling

LA Times  

It was the sort of conduct one usually associates with totalitarian governments: Law enforcement officers swarm a newspaper office and confiscate computers, servers and cellphones of reporters and editors. The searches left the small news operation in such a dire state that it was not clear whether it would be able to publish the next scheduled edition Tuesday evening; Meyer …

A central Kansas police force sparked a firestorm by raiding a newspaper and the publisher’s home
1 year, 4 months ago

A central Kansas police force sparked a firestorm by raiding a newspaper and the publisher’s home

Associated Press  

MARION, Kan. — A small central Kansas police department is facing a torrent of criticism for raiding a local newspaper’s office and the home of its owner and publisher, seizing computers and cellphones, and, in the publisher’s view, stressing his 98-year-old mother enough to cause her weekend death. A search warrant tied Friday morning raids, led by Marion Police Chief …

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