An investigation into last week’s law enforcement raid of the Marion County Record is now being led by the Kansas Bureau of Investigation.
Marion Police searched the newspaper’s office, as well as the homes of the publisher and owner and a city councilwoman on Friday, seizing documents and cell phones as part of a search warrant.
KBI spokesperson Melissa Underwood says the KBI will “review prior steps” and will “determine how best to proceed” before sending its investigation results to Marion County Attorney Joel Ensey for a decision on formal charges.
The situation has been rapidly unfolding since the raid Friday, which is apparently rooted in a newspaper investigation into Marion restaurant owner Kari Newell. The Record obtained copies of Newell’s driving record including a 2008 conviction for DUI. The paper did not run a story specifically on Newell’s record after what it said was information coming from an unnamed source and leading to public records, but it reported on Newell’s complaints during a City Council meeting where she confirmed both a DUI and driving with a suspended license.
Any connection between a Record investigation into the background of new Police Chief Gideon Cody has not been determined, although the investigation was underway at the time of the search.
Cody says the raid was conducted legally, with officers looking for evidence of an illegal computer search to confirm information about Newell. Media and civil rights organizations have roundly condemned the raid, saying officers violated First Amendment rights.
The Associated Press says lawsuits are under consideration, with Newell mulling a lawsuit against the newspaper and paper owner Eric Meyer looking at a possible lawsuit against law enforcement. Meyer also blames the raid and resulting fallout for leading to the sudden death of his mother, 98-year-old Joan Meyer, this past weekend.
