A raid on a Kansas newspaper likely broke the law, experts say. But which one?

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Some legal experts believe the Aug. 11 raid on the Marion County Record's offices and the home of its publisher violated a federal privacy law that protects journalists from having their newsrooms searched. Some believe it violated a Kansas law that makes it more difficult to force reporters and editors to disclose their sources or unpublished material.

Part of the debate centers around Marion Police Chief Gideon Cody's reasons for the raid. A warrant suggested that police were looking for evidence that the Record's staff broke state laws against identity theft and computer crimes while verifying information about a local restaurant owner. But the police also seized the computer tower and personal cellphone belonging to a reporter who had investigated Cody's background.

Stephen McAllister, a U.S. attorney for Kansas during former President Donald Trump's administration, said the raid opened Cody, the city and others to lawsuits for alleged civil right violations. And, he added, "We also have some exposure to federal criminal prosecution." Police seized computers, personal cellphones and a router from the newspaper. All items were released Wednesday to a computer forensics auditing firm hired by the newspaper's attorney, after the local prosecutor concluded there wasn't enough evidence to justify their seizure. The firm is examining whether files were accessed or copied.

Meyer rejects criticism of his newspaper's reporting and said critics are upset because it's attempting to hold local officials accountable. And he blames the stress from the raid for the Aug. 12 death of his 98-year-old mother, Joan Meyer, the paper's co-owner. "We get confidential things from people all the time and we check them out," said Doug Anstaett, a retired Kansas Press Association executive director. "And sometimes we know they're silly, but most of the time we get a tip, we check it out. And that's exactly what they're doing."

 

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