A small newspaper in Kansas that was raided by local police this month was reportedly flooded with several annual subscriptions.
It came shortly after the newspaper filed a federal lawsuit against the city’s police chief for taking a cellphone from a reporter’s hands.
The raid conducted by Marion County on August 11th was personally led by Marion Police Chief Gideon Cody.
Another raid was carried out on the home of the publisher’s 98-year-old mother, who died the next day.
Cody, 54, alleged in unreleased court documents that the reporter, identified as Deb Gruver, either impersonated someone else or lied about her intentions when obtaining driving records from a local liquor store owner, The AP reported.
Cody, who was only sworn in in May, is accused of violating the woman’s constitutional rights by confiscating her phone – a move the newspaper’s editor said was because the reporter was employed by another police department had investigated his background.
It is believed that the identity theft allegations were a convenient excuse for the search – although the police have not yet explained this, according to the media.
Hours earlier, a reporter from another outlet shared footage of a Record employee receiving an order for an annual subscription – with the only condition that it be sent to the police rather than to the caller.
Scroll down for the video:
The Marion County Record, a small Kansas newspaper that was raided by local law enforcement this month, was reportedly flooded with year-long subscriptions – with footage showing a caller insisting that his issues be sent to the police department Censorship is accused
The raid, conducted on August 11, was personally led by Marion Police Chief Gideon Cody (center). After being sworn in as recently as May, he is accused of violating a reporter’s constitutional rights by confiscating her phone during the raid – a move the newspaper’s editor said was because the woman was at one another police department had investigated his background
WATCH: Someone called to purchase an annual subscription to the Marion County Record. This has happened frequently since the raid. But this person’s special request is a novelty! You want to watch 💯 percent. 👇 pic.twitter.com/H8a8wF5cPs
— Jessica McMaster (@JessMcMasterKC) August 31, 2023
“Someone called to purchase an annual subscription to the Marion County Record,” he wrote KSHB 41 NewsJessica McMaster posted the video in a tweet in which the employee asks a supervisor if she could grant the caller’s request.
A supervisor quickly replies, “Yes, we’ll give it to them.”
In addition to sparking local outrage, the raid also brought international attention to the small inner-city town of 1,900 residents — which is now at the center of a debate over press freedom.
Reporting on the aftermath, McMaster wrote, “A lot has happened since the raid. “But this person’s particular request is a first.”
As the recorder wrote down callers’ information for the order, scattered across his desk was the post-raid edition of the newspaper, the front page of which was devoted to a surveillance photo of officers during the raid.
Police seized computers, personal cell phones and a router during the filmed ordeal, all of which were released Wednesday after the district attorney concluded there was insufficient evidence to justify the action.
A video published by the newspaper two days earlier showed how disturbing the simultaneous raid a few miles away was for the mother of publisher Eric Meyer, who died the next day.
“Get out of my house… I don’t want you in my house!” Joan Meyer, who also co-owned the newspaper, can be heard shouting at six officers who were in the home she shared with her son.
Surveillance video shows the older woman using a walker and wearing slippers and a long robe or smock as she walks toward the officers, cursing and demanding to know what the officers are doing.
A video released by the newspaper two days earlier showed how disturbing the simultaneous raid a few miles away was for publisher Eric Meyer’s mother, 98-year-old Bonnie, who died the next day. Her son said he also plans to file a lawsuit
Police seized computers, personal cell phones and a router during the filmed ordeal, all of which were released Wednesday after the district attorney concluded there was insufficient evidence to justify the action
Footage from the newsroom raid shows officers entering with cameras on Friday
Meyer was distraught over the police raid on her newspaper and died “in mid-sentence” half a day after the still-unclear action
Cody, 54, claimed in unreleased court documents that the search was conducted after another reporter either posed as someone else or lied about her intentions in obtaining a local liquor store owner’s driving records
Cody, seen here in plain clothes, became chief of the Marion County Police Department in May after retiring from the Kansas City Police Department in Missouri. He’s being sued by the reporter whose phone he stole
Eric Meyer, publisher of The Marion County Record, claims the search was motivated by the reporter’s investigation into the chief’s police past
Meyer, who was seen outside the records office two weeks ago, claims the newspaper received calls claiming Cody resigned from his last post to avoid a demotion over alleged sexual misconduct
He said the reporter whose phone was stolen, Deb Gruver, was investigating those allegations and was specifically targeted
The Marion County Record serves a community of 1,900 people in rural Kansas
Her son said he believed the stress contributed to her death, claiming the newspaper had received a “barrage of calls” claiming Cody had resigned from his last police post to face a demotion over allegations of sexual misconduct to escape.
He said the reporter whose phone was stolen, 30-year-old veterinarian Gruver, was investigating those allegations and was specifically targeted.
“I might be afraid that this has something to do with it, but when people come and seize your computer, you tend to be a little paranoid,” Meyer told The Handbasket.
He told the Kansas City Star that they had not yet published the story because they had not yet completed their investigation.
“We didn’t release it because we couldn’t get it to the point where we thought it was ready to be released,” Meyer said.
‘[Cody] didn’t know who our sources were. That’s what he’s doing now.’
And Meyer told AP: “This is the kind of stuff that Vladimir Putin does, that Third World dictators do.”
“These are Gestapo tactics from World War II.”
Meyer added this week that he soon plans to file his own lawsuit in addition to Gruver’s.
Gruver — a veteran reporter with more than three decades of experience — said in a statement about her federal amendment petition: “I advocate for journalists across the country.”
“It is our constitutional right to do this job without fear of harassment or retaliation, and our constitutional rights are always worth fighting for,” said Gruver, who tattooed the words “freedom of the press” on her right forearm that same day was submitted.
She previously worked for other newspapers in Kansas, Wyoming and Indiana, winning awards for her reporting.
CCTV footage shows a raid on the Marion County records offices
The next day, the front page of the newspaper featured a surveillance photo of officers during a raid
Bundles of copies of this week’s edition of the newspaper are stacked on the floor behind the reception desk in the newspaper’s office
The small-town newspaper said it has been bombarded with subscription orders since the controversy began
A handmade sign on a door at the Marion County Record announces that the newspaper’s latest weekly edition will be delayed on Aug. 16, five days after the raid
A tribute to late Marion County Record co-owner Joan Meyer sits outside the newspaper’s office Monday
The raids on the newspaper and the Meyers’ homes came after a local business owner accused the newspaper of illegally accessing information about them.
Liquor store operator Kari Newell accused the newspaper of illegally accessing information about her and could have had her liquor license revoked.
In Ruver’s reports, she stated that she obtained personal information to obtain details about the status of her suspended driver’s license and her record, which included a drunken driving arrest.
A spokesman for the agency that keeps those records said the reporter’s search on a public website was likely legal.
Meyer didn’t publish the story about Newell because he was questioning the source – and instead told police about the information.
Newell then accused the weekly of illegally obtaining her personal information, which triggered the search.
She was also reportedly unhappy with the newspaper’s report about Newell kicking reporters out of an event at her restaurant, Kari’s Restaurant.
Meyer told the Kansas City Star, “We sent them a message that a source had given us a file that we believed was of suspicious origin.”
“We checked it to make sure it was correct, but had no intention of doing anything with it.” Her reaction was typical bully fashion.
“Instead of asking a question or getting supplies, they came with a nuclear fly swatter to confiscate our equipment and appeared to be trying to put us out of business.”
The search warrant for the raid
Kari Newell accused the weekly of illegally obtaining her personal information, which triggered the search. She was also reportedly unhappy with the newspaper’s report on Newell kicking out reporters from an event at her restaurant, Kari’s Restaurant (pictured, the event).
Kari Newell and her estranged husband Ryan Newell. Ryan (right) sent information about Kari’s DUI in 2008 to a woman named Pam Maag, who then contacted the Marion County Record reporter
But after Cody handed Gruver a copy of the warrant and she told him she needed to call the publisher, he quickly grabbed her personal phone and took it.
“In seizing Ms. Gruver’s personal cell phone, even though the seizure went beyond the scope of the unreasonable and unlawful search warrant, Chief Cody acted in an unreasonable and unnecessarily violent manner, thereby violating Plaintiff Gruver’s rights and her person,” it says the statement of claim.
One of the officers even read Gruver, another reporter and an office administrator their Miranda rights, even though they were never arrested, before forcing them outside in the heat to watch the three-hour search.
The Kansas Bureau of Investigation is investigating the newspaper’s actions but has not provided an update on its investigation.
As for Marion County police, they have said little publicly since the raids, other than posting their defense on the police department’s Facebook page.
Written by Cody personally on August 12, it reads: “The Marion Kansas Police Department has received multiple inquiries regarding an ongoing investigation.
“Although I would like to share full details of a criminal investigation, I cannot do that.” I believe that if the rest of the story is released to the public, it will vindicate the justice system in question.
“I appreciate the support of all state and local investigators, as well as the entire legal process to date.”
Broadly speaking, federal privacy law protects journalists from most searches of newsrooms by federal and state law enforcement agencies.
“It is true that in most cases police must use subpoenas rather than search warrants to search journalists’ premises unless they are themselves suspects in the crime that is the subject of the search.”
“The law requires criminal investigators to obtain a subpoena in lieu of a search warrant when seeking “work product materials” and “documentary materials” from the press, except under the following circumstances: (1) when there is reason to believe that the journalist is doing something assumes a share in the underlying misconduct.
“The Marion Kansas Police Department believes that the fundamental mission of law enforcement is to ensure the safety and well-being of all members of the public.”
“This commitment must remain steadfast and unbiased, unaffected by political or media influences, to uphold the principles of justice, equal protection and the rule of law for all in the community.”
“The victim demands that we do everything the law allows to ensure that justice is served,” he further vowed. “The Marion Kansas Police Department will do nothing less.”