Police seized phone, computer from town official the same day as Kansas newspaper raid

A councilwoman of a small Kansas town says police seized her electronic devices Friday, the same day a law enforcement raid on the local newspaper made national news.

Speaking at her home on Sunday, Marion Councilwoman Ruth Herbel called the police action “ridiculous.”

“I just think it was an invasion” of a business, Herbel told The Star. “The printing of the press is what makes us free.”

The town of fewer than 2,000 people was embroiled in controversy after its entire five-officer police force, along with two sheriff’s deputies, executed a search warrant at the Marion County Record — sparking criticism from First Amendment advocates and journalism organizations from across the country.

Also searched from 10:30 a.m. to 1:45 p.m. Friday was Herbel’s home. She said her 88-year-old husband, who is disabled and has dementia, was “traumatized” when he answered the door to find an officer. He ran though the house screaming Herbel’s name.

Law enforcement took Herbel’s laptop and cellphone, though she said she does not know why. She was presented with a warrant saying police were investigating identify theft and unlawful acts concerning computers.

Herbel said not having a phone was initially a problem: She does not have a landline and could not call for help in case her husband had a medical emergency. She has since purchased a new phone.

At the newspaper, police seized computers, cellphones and reporting materials from its reporters and from the home of the owner and publisher, Eric Meyer. Meyer said police injured a reporter’s finger while taking away her cellphone.

Records show police were looking for evidence that a reporter had run an improper computer search to confirm a report that a local business owner applying for a liquor license had lost her driver’s license over a DUI.

Meyer’s 98-year-old mother, Joan Meyer, a newswoman for decades and a co-owner of the paper, was upset by the police search of the home she shared with her son. She died Saturday and was remembered as a well-respected member of the community.

Meyer told The Star the raid amounted to “intimidation tactics” by the police.

Reached Sunday afternoon at his home, Mayor David Mayfield largely declined to comment, saying police were conducting a criminal investigation and that the situation would be handled by attorneys.

The town, Mayfield said, had never seen this kind of national attention.

The raid, first reported on by the online news outlet the Kansas Reflector, severely hampered publication of the Record.

Meyer said that, before the raid, his newspaper had investigated Police Chief Gideon Cody’s background and his time at the Kansas City Police Department, where he worked for 24 years before coming to Marion.

Cody did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the seizure of Herbel’s belongings.

In a previous written statement, Cody said he believed that “when the rest of the story is available to the public, the judicial system that is being questioned will be vindicated.”

Herbel said she was “skeptical” of Cody when he was being vetted as a candidate in Marion, though she was hesitant to say more.

The Record intends to file a lawsuit over the search as First Amendment advocates urge the police to return the journalists’ materials.

Star reporters Glenn E. Rice and Judy Thomas contributed to this report.