'A promising first step': Raided Kansas newspaper to have seized property returned
Days after a Kansas newspaper was raided by local law enforcement, a local prosecutor and the Kansas Bureau of Investigation announced they would return the goods seized to the Marion County Record and not use those materials in an ongoing investigation.
The Friday raid on the Marion County Record prompted outrage and international attention, with advocacy groups, media outlets and politicians condemning the action as a flagrant press freedom violation.
The Marion Police Department said it believed the action was warranted, but the KBI announced Monday that it would be taking the lead in the probe, including a review of prior steps taken in the investigation.
In a statement Wednesday, the agency said the investigation into possible wrongdoing will continue but "will proceed independently, and without review or examination of any of the evidence seized on Friday, Aug. 11."
Marion County Attorney Joel Ensley said in a separate statement that "insufficient evidence exists to establish a legally sufficient nexus" between the alleged crime and the items seized. A probable cause affidavit supporting the warrant was apparently filed but was not made public.
The seized items will be returned to the paper. Its attorney, Bernie Rhodes, said a forensic expert was en route to Marion to examine the materials, though he was told by the KBI that law enforcement did not yet go through them.
While Rhodes praised the development as a "promising first step" he noted it would not bring back Meyer's mother, Joan Meyer, 98, who lived with her son and died the day after the raid.
He did not rule out a future lawsuit regarding possible violations of the U.S. Constitution.
"It does nothing to cure the 1st Amendment violations that occurred when the search was executed," Rhodes said.
The raid was apparently connected to a tip the newspaper received regarding the criminal history of a local business owner.
The paper's editor, Eric Meyer, has maintained the paper's reporters broke no laws in attempting to verify the accuracy of the information, alleging that local bar owner Kari Newell had a 2008 DUI conviction and had driven without a license.
The search warrant, requested by Marion Police Chief Gideon Cody and signed by Magistrate Judge Laura Viar, sought newsroom computers that may have been used to access Kansas Department of Revenue databases, notes and documents related to Newell and other records.
It alleged possible crimes of identity theft and unlawful act concerning computers.
The warrant was executed at the newspaper's offices, Meyer's home and the residence of a Marion city council member.
Wednesday marked the first day the paper was published in the wake of the raid, with staff forced to re-create information on the seized computers. The banner headline on the front page: "Seized ... but not silenced."
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Marion County Record's seized property to be returned in wake of raid
