Kansas Newspaper Sues Over Police Raids, Claims Stress Led to Co-owner’s Death

The last printed issue of the Marion County Record sits in a display in its office in Marion, Kan., on Aug. 13, 2023. (John Hanna/AP Photo)

A small local newspaper in Kansas, along with its publisher, filed a lawsuit over controversial raids conducted in August last year, accusing local officials of retaliating against them and violating their First Amendment rights.

The Aug. 11, 2023 raid on the office of the Marion County Record, a weekly newspaper founded in 1869, and the home of its owner and publisher Eric Meyer sparked widespread criticism among major news organizations and journalism advocacy groups.

Just one day after the raids on Mr. Meyer’s home, his 98-year-old mother Joan Meyer—who was present when police entered the home—died.

In the lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for Kansas on Monday, the plaintiffs allege Ms. Meyer, who also served as co-owner of the paper, died of a sudden cardiac arrest brought on “by the stress of the illegal raid.”

They also accuse the officials involved of violating free press rights and the right to be free from unreasonable law enforcement searches guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution. Additionally, they allege that city officials failed to properly hire, train, supervise, discipline, and control their officers.

The nearly 130-page lawsuit lists the City of Marion, its former Mayor David Mayfield, former Police Chief Gideon Cody, Marion County Sheriff Jeff Soyez, Marion County Detective Aaron Christner, the Board of County Commissioners, and Acting Police Chief Zach Hudlin as defendants.

‘Ill-Fated Attempt to Silence the Press’

“Eric Meyer and the Record bring this lawsuit to seek justice for the intolerable violation of their constitutional rights and the constitutional rights of Joan Meyer, and to deter the next crazed cop from threatening democracy the way Chief Cody did when he hauled away the newspaper’s computers and its reporters’ cell phones in an ill-fated attempt to silence the press,” the plaintiffs wrote in the lawsuit.

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According to the complaint, the application for a search warrant of the newspaper’s office and home was “replete with either intentional, knowing, or recklessly false statements” and the items seized by police exceeded the scope of the warrant.

Ms. Meyer was also left “traumatized” over the raid on her home and “refused to eat or drink and refused to go to bed,” the lawsuit states.

It further notes that Ms. Meyer had lived through World War II and that the raid brought up bad memories for her.

“Joan repeatedly told her son that her entire life was meaningless if this is what Marion had become,” it adds.

The lawsuit also alleges that the raid was conducted by officials seeking “retribution” against the newspaper and its owner; alleging that Mayor Mayfield had vowed to “silence the MCR”, and that Chief Cody had offered to fund a competing newspaper in an effort to put the Record out of business.

City Officials ‘Sought Retribution’

The lawsuit did not state how much the plaintiffs are seeking.

However, in a separate filing on Monday to local city and county officials, the paper and its publisher said they believe the raid resulted in more than $10 million in damages. The city of Marion’s budget for 2023 was about $8.7 million, while the county’s budget was about $35 million.

Jennifer Hill, an attorney representing the city and former and current city officials, declined to comment. Jeffrey Kuhlman, an attorney representing the county commission, the sheriff, and his former deputy, said he couldn’t comment because he hasn’t had time to review the lawsuit.

Eric Meyer, the editor and publisher of the Marion County Record, answers questions about a raid by local police and sheriff's deputies on his newspaper's newsroom and his home, in Marion, Kan., on Aug. 13, 2023. (John Hanna/AP Photo)

The controversial raids on the newspaper were later linked to a complaint by local restaurant owner Kari Newell, who accused the Marion County Record of illegally accessing and disseminating sensitive information about her driving record—specifically a drunk driving conviction from 2008— and suggested the Marion County Record targeted her after she had ejected Mr. Meyer and a reporter from an event at her restaurant earlier in August.

The newspaper ultimately opted not to publish the information and instead contacted the police. However, it did publish a story about a city council meeting in which Ms. Newell herself confirmed she’d had a DUI conviction and explained that she had continued to drive even after her license was suspended, the Newton Kansan reported.

The latest lawsuit is the fourth filed against officials allegedly involved in the raid. In February, Phyllis Zorn, an award-winning reporter at the paper, filed a lawsuit against city officials including the former mayor and police chief, alleging her constitutional rights were violated during the incident.

Ms. Zorn is seeking $950,000 in damages and attorney’s fees.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.