100 Percent Fed Up has followed the story of the unprecedented raid on a local newspaper’s office and the publisher’s home.

Legal experts previously called the raid reminiscent of “totalitarian regimes.”

As 100 Percent Fed Up noted, the Marion County Record said the raid contributed to the tragic death of the newspaper’s co-owner.

Local law enforcement raided the Marion County Record’s office and seized computers, cellphones, and reporting materials.

“Eric Meyer, owner and publisher of the newspaper, said police were motivated by a confidential source who leaked sensitive documents to the newspaper,” the Kansas Reflector reports.

“The raid followed news stories about a restaurant owner who kicked reporters out of a meeting last week with U.S. Rep. Jake LaTurner, and revelations about the restaurant owner’s lack of a driver’s license and conviction for drunken driving,” the Kansas Reflector writes.

“It’s going to have a chilling effect on us even tackling issues,” Meyer said.

According to Marion County Record, the illegal raid, resembling “Gestapo tactics,” contributed to the death of the newspaper’s co-owner.

“Stressed beyond her limits and overwhelmed by hours of shock and grief after illegal police raids on her home and the Marion County Record newspaper office Friday, 98-year-old newspaper co-owner Joan Meyer, otherwise in good health for her age, collapsed Saturday afternoon and died at her home,” Marion County Record wrote.

However, Marion Police Chief Gideon Cody stood by the raid.

“As much as I would like to give everyone details on a criminal investigation I cannot. I believe when the rest of the story is available to the public, the judicial system that is being questioned will be vindicated,” Cody told Just the News in a statement.

Just the News reported:

Federal law requires police in most cases to subpoena materials from journalists rather than obtaining them through a search warrant, which Cody acknowledged.

“It is true that in most cases, it requires police to use subpoenas, rather than search warrants, to search the premises of journalists unless they themselves are suspects in the offense that is the subject of the search,” he wrote, including the emphasis.

The law requires a subpoena for materials from the press except “when there is reason to believe the journalist is taking part in the underlying wrongdoing,” Cody also wrote in bold.

“This commitment must remain steadfast and unbiased, unaffected by political or media influences, in order to uphold the principles of justice, equal protection, and the rule of law for everyone in the community,” he also said.

Eric Meyer’s paper has said the raid, which involved the seizure of his electronics and bank account information, was illegal.

UPDATE

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The Washington Post obtained sworn affidavits previously not disclosed to the public.

Marion Police Chief Gideon Cody told a judge that a reporter at the newspaper office “accessed a restaurant owner’s driving record from a state database and could not have done so without ‘either impersonating the victim or lying about the reasons why the record was being sought,'” The Washington Post stated.

“Marion Police Chief Gideon Cody also wrote that the Kansas Department of Revenue had confirmed to him that Marion County Record reporter Phyllis Zorn had downloaded the private record,” the outlet added.

The Washington Post reports:

Zorn confirmed to The Washington Post that she downloaded the record, a process that involves entering a name, date of birth and driver’s license number. She said she did so to verify information she had received from a source. The newspaper’s editor and publisher, Eric Meyer, said he does not believe Zorn committed a crime. He said that the record was accessed for research purposes and that there was no intent to use it maliciously. “There is no criminal intent,” he said.

Meyer allowed for the possibility that the paper had technically crossed a line by searching the database but said that “even if it was illegal for us to do that, the police response was like bringing the SWAT team out for jaywalking.”

The Aug. 11 police raid sparked outrage among First Amendment advocates and news organizations across the nation. Officers seized computers, phones and other records during the search, a virtually unprecedented event in recent American history. Meyer’s home also was searched, as was the home of a city council member. The Record said stress from the raid contributed to the sudden death the following day of Meyer’s 98-year-old mother, Joan, a co-owner of the newspaper.

Marion County Attorney Joel Ensey, who is the county prosecutor, on Wednesday said that “insufficient evidence” had been used to connect the alleged crimes being investigated — the most serious of which is a felony — to the places that were searched. He asked police to return the property seized from the newspaper. The Kansas Bureau of Investigation has said it still is examining whether the newspaper violated state law.

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