Authorities to Return Items Seized in Kansas Newspaper Raid

The prime prosecutor in Marion County, Kan., mentioned on Wednesday that there was not ample proof to help a raid on a neighborhood newspaper final week, and that the entire units and supplies obtained within the search could be returned.

Joel Ensey, the Marion County legal professional, mentioned in a press release that, in mild of the inadequate proof, he directed native regulation enforcement to return the seized materials.

Police officers and county sheriff’s deputies searched the newspaper’s workplace, the house of its proprietor and editor and the house of a metropolis councilwoman on Friday — gathering computer systems, cellphones and different supplies. It is extraordinarily uncommon for regulation enforcement authorities within the United States to look and seize the instruments to supply journalism.

The searches had been a part of an investigation into how The Record obtained and dealt with a doc containing details about a neighborhood restaurateur — and whether or not the restaurant proprietor’s privateness was violated within the course of. The episode threw a nationwide highlight on Marion, a city of about 2,000 individuals positioned an hour north of Wichita.

The Kansas Bureau of Investigation, an company that aids regulation enforcement statewide, mentioned in a press release that the investigation would proceed.

The search generated blowback from First Amendment specialists, who condemned the raid and urged native regulation enforcement officers to return the journalists’ gear. On Sunday, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press despatched a letter to the Marion Police Department expressing concern that the raid violated federal regulation. The letter was signed by greater than 30 newsrooms, together with The New York Times, and press advocacy organizations.

Joann Meyer, a co-owner of the paper, died on Saturday. Her son, Eric Meyer, the newspaper’s writer, mentioned that she was in shock after the raid, including that she had hassle sleeping. Ms. Meyer, 98, refused meals, and stored asking Mr. Meyer whether or not anybody would put an finish to the conflict with authorities. She died midsentence.

Mr. Meyer mentioned the coroner had concluded that the stress of the searches was a contributing think about her dying.

Mr. Ensey, the county legal professional, was in court docket Wednesday and never obtainable to remark.

The search of the newspaper’s workplace got here lower than per week after Kari Newell, a neighborhood restaurant proprietor, accused The Record of illegally acquiring a authorities file about steps to revive her drivers license after which sharing it with a metropolis councilwoman.

Mr. Meyer has mentioned for the reason that raid that he and his newspaper, which didn’t publish something in regards to the doc it obtained, had achieved nothing flawed and that the newspaper didn’t share the doc with the councilwoman.

Mr. Meyer, 69, has had a protracted profession in journalism, working as a reporter for The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and a professor on the University of Illinois. The Record, which has seven workers and a circulation of about 4,000, is thought for its fiery editorials about native officers and uncommonly aggressive reporting for a paper of its measurement. But it is usually a small-town paper with small-town issues: Last week’s prime story was a few 10-year-old who’s studying to play guitar at a neighborhood senior middle.

On Wednesday, in an interview at The Record’s workplace, he mentioned he was vindicated by the county legal professional’s choice, including that he was grateful that the paper’s units had been being returned. He criticized the county legal professional and the Kansas Bureau of Investigation for releasing statements in regards to the choice earlier than telling him.

He proudly held up a print copy of this week’s version, which workers members had stayed up late into the evening to supply due to the lacking units. “SEIZED … but not silenced” learn the highest headline, in 200-point font.

“You cannot let bullies win, and eventually a bully will cross the line to the point that it becomes so egregious that other people come around and support you,” Mr. Meyer mentioned.

Bernard J. Rhodes, a lawyer who represents The Record, referred to as the county’s choice to withdraw its search warrant and return the seized objects “a promising first step.”

“However, it does nothing to recompense the paper for the violation of its First Amendment rights when the search was conducted,” he added, “and most regrettably, does not return Joann Meyer.”

Mr. Meyer mentioned the final 24 hours of his mom’s life was terrible, however that she would have loved the help The Record has obtained — 2,000 extra individuals have subscribed to the paper in simply the previous few days — amid its ongoing dispute with regulation enforcement businesses.

“She would have liked to be thought of as almost a martyr for the cause,” he mentioned.