Multiple raids carried out by police in a Kansas town on a newspaper and its staff continue to cause concerns over free speech rights.
On Tuesday, Scripps News Kansas City continued its investigation into three police raids — one of which took place at a Kansas newspaper — by paying a visit to the Marion police chief who was involved.
Bernie Rhodes, a Kansas City attorney representing the Marion County Record, says Cody is at the center of all of it. "He drove to the house, to personally search the house of a 98-year-old who had nothing to do with this. A woman who died the next day," Rhodes said. On the way in, he stopped at a memorial created on the sidewalk for Joan Meyer, the co-publisher of Marion County Record, who died one day after police raided her home.
Over the weekend, Rhodes sent a scathing letter to the chief demanding no one view the seized items. By Monday, KBI had taken over the case. As for the equipment that was seized, Rhodes said one of the items has a tracking device on it and he says he has been monitoring its movement. Rhodes thinks he knows where the items are, but did not elaborate further. "It is not with the Marion Police Department," Rhodes said."That would not be good news."A look at how it startedBefore the raid, the Marion County Record received a tip about a local restaurant owner's driving record.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Editorial: Raid on Kansas newspaper was possibly illegal — and definitely troublingThese searches took place in a small town, but the temptation of law enforcement to overreach in dealing with journalists exists in communities of all sizes.
Read more »
98-Year-Old Kansas Newspaper Co-Owner Dies Day After “Gestapo” Style Police RaidA 98-year-old co-owner of a small Kansas newspaper died a day after the entire police force of her town raided the newspaper's office and the publisher's home.
Read more »
Kansas Police Raid the Marion County Newspaper OfficeSee multiple perspectives from Kansas Reflector, New York Post (News), and Wall Street Journal (News) at AllSides.com.
Read more »
30+ News Organizations Condemn 'Chilling' Police Raid on Kansas Newspaper'Newsroom searches and seizures are among the most intrusive actions law enforcement can take with respect to the free press, and the most potentially suppressive of free speech by the press and the public,' says rcfp's letter, signed by 34 US news orgs.
Read more »
Raid on Small Kansas Paper Swept Up Information on Police ChiefThe Aug. 11 police raid of the Marion County Record, a small Kansas newspaper, swept up cellphones and computers containing information about the outlet’s investigation of the police chief
Read more »
Kansas police force under constitutional criticism after raidA small newspaper and a police department in Kansas are at the center of a dispute over freedom of speech that is being watched around the country after police raided the office of the local newspaper and the home of its owner and publisher.
Read more »