TOPEKA, Kan. — A central Kansas weekly newspaper and its publisher filed a federal lawsuit Monday over police raids last summer on their offices and the publisher’s home, accusing local officials of trying to silence the newspaper and causing the deaths of the publisher’s 98-year-old mother.
The lawsuit did not include a specific amount for potential damages. However, in a separate notice to local officials, the newspaper and publisher said they believe they are owed more than $10 million.
The lawsuit from Marion County Record’s parent company and Eric Meyer, its editor and publisher, accuses the city of Marion, the Marion County Commission and five current and former local officials of violating the free press rights and the right to be free from unreasonable law enforcement. searches guaranteed by the US Constitution. The lawsuit also notified the defendants that Meyer and the newspaper plan to add other claims, including that officials wrongfully caused the death of Meyer’s mother the day after the raids, which the lawsuit alleges of a stress-induced heart attack.
The raids made Marion, a town of about 1,900 residents nestled among the rolling prairie hills about 150 miles (241 kilometers) southwest of Kansas City, Missouri, the center of a national debate over press freedom. It also highlighted the intense divisions over a newspaper known for its aggressive coverage of local issues and its strong criticism of some officials.
The city’s former police chief — who later resigned amid the ongoing furor — justified the Aug. 11 raids by saying he had probable cause to believe that the newspaper and a reporter may have committed identity theft and other computer crimes in the obtain and verify information about a local business. driving behavior of the owner. The lawsuit alleges that the newspaper and its reporters did nothing illegal, that the search warrants were improper and that officials had a longstanding grudge against the newspaper.
“The last thing we want is to bankrupt the city or county, but we have a duty to democracy and to countless news organizations and citizens across the country to address such malicious and wanton violations,” Meyer said in a statement.
The city of Marion’s 2023 budget was about $8.7 million, while the county’s budget was about $35 million.
In addition to the city, defendants in the lawsuit include former Marion Mayor David Mayfield, who retired in January; former Police Chief Gideon Cody, who resigned in October; and current acting police chief Zach Hudlin, who participated in the raids as an officer. Marion County Sheriff Jeff Soyez, the county commission and a former deputy who helped draft the search warrants used in the raids are the other named suspects.
The newspaper had investigated Cody’s background before the city hired him last year. The lawsuit alleges that Soyez frequently said he did not approve of Meyer’s “negative attitude.”
The newspaper’s attorney, Bernie Rhodes, noted that when police raided the home Meyer and his mother shared, she told the former police chief, “Boy, are you going to get in trouble.”
“It is my job to ensure that Joan’s promise is kept,” Rhodes said in his own statement.
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 could not comment because he has not had time to review the lawsuit.
The lawsuit from Meyer and the newspaper was the fourth filed in federal court in Kansas over the police raids, which also involved sheriff’s deputies and even an officer from the state fire marshal’s office. Deb Gruver, now a former reporter, filed the first lawsuit less than three weeks after the raids, and a trial is scheduled for September 2025.
Current Record reporter Phyllis Zorn filed the second lawsuit in February, and the defendants want it dismissed. The third was filed last week by Cheri Bentz, the newspaper’s office manager.
The latest lawsuit says it was filed to seek justice for “intolerable” violations of constitutional rights and “to stop the next crazed cop from threatening democracy.”
While federal civil rights laws allowed Meyer and the newspaper to immediately file suit, Kansas law requires parties planning to sue local governments to give them 120 days’ notice so officials can pay the claim first . In a ten-page message, Rhodes said Meyer must pay compensation for his mother’s funeral expenses; the newspaper, for damage to its accounting system; and both, for their legal costs.
The notice also states that Meyer and his mother have suffered “extreme and severe distress” and that their estate is entitled to $4 million in damages. It is also claimed that the newspaper deserves $2 million for damages and that the damages should be more than $4 million.
“Many of those who committed stormtrooper-style harassment with an unnecessarily large contingent of armed officers remain in office or have been promoted,” Meyer said in his statement. “Even newly elected officials have refused to disavow the tactics used.”