Warrant Authorizing Raid of Small Town Kansas Paper Withdrawn as Questions Remain

The raid of a small town newspaper caused outcry from First Amendment advocates and press groups, including the Illinois Press Association, which called on the county’s police chief to “apologize and resign.”

The warrant that authorized a police raid on a small town newspaper in Marion County, Kansas, was withdrawn due to “insignificant evidence,” authorities said on Wednesday.

Marion County Attorney Joel Ensey confirmed the search warrant, which allowed police to seize computers, cellphones and other materials from the Marion County Record’s offices, the owner’s home and the home of Marion City Vice Mayor Ruth Herbel, has been withdrawn. He added he asked law enforcement officers who took the equipment to return it to their owners.

Ensey said the warrant was withdrawn because “insufficient evidence exists to establish a legally sufficient nexus between the alleged crime and the places searched and the items seized.”

“This is significant progress,” the Record’s attorney Bernie Rhodes told US media. “[Record owner Eric Meyer] is very pleased by the update, however, he is still somewhat cautious.”

The Raid

Police claim they were investigating an alleged case of identity theft when they raided the paper's offices.

Earlier this month, the newspaper says it was given an anonymous tip that a local restaurant owner, Kari Newell of Kari’s Kitchen, had lost her license because of a driving under the influence (DUI) charge. The offense is considered a significant mark as Newell was applying for a liquor license and Kansas state law prohibits liquor licenses being issued to individuals with felony DUI convictions and requires a state driver’s license.

While the paper did not publish the information, Meyer passed the information on to Marion County Police Chief Gideon Cody and later Herbel when it was requested.

At a town meeting to determine Newell's liquor license eligibility, the restaurant owner reportedly admitted to having the DUI charge but accused the Record of obtaining the information illegally by stealing her mail. Days later, Magistrate Judge Laura Viar authorized a search warrant at Cody’s request.

Eric Meyer's 98-year-old mother, Joann Meyer, was at the house she shared with her son when the police raided it. She died the next day, something Eric Meyer attributes in part to the raid, saying she died of “shock and grief.”

The Kansas Bureau of Investigations (KBI) said the investigation into the alleged identity theft is ongoing, and that it would be heading up the investigation without the materials seized using the withdrawn warrant. The agency added it appointed an officer to assist the Marion County Police at their request, but that the agent did not request the warrant and did not participate in the raid.

Suspicions Abound

Eric Meyer told US media on Wednesday he is suspicious of the timing of the warrant’s issuance, explaining that his paper was investigating claims that Cody had retired from his previous policing job in Kansas City to avoid a demotion from sexual abuse claims.

He alleges his reporters were never able to corroborate the story, but the claims and the sources were on the computers that were seized.

Furthermore, Meyer adds that the documents related to Newell’s DUI arrest were left in the office.

“The note, the letter, the document itself was sitting right here on this desk when they raided the newsroom. They took that computer. They didn’t take [the documents],” Meyer points out. “Is that the real purpose of this raid?”

Meyer also notes that the warrant’s supporting affidavit was not published publicly but says he saw it, and that it was filed three days after the warrant, raising more suspicions.

Judge Laura Viar

The increased attention on the case has also revealed questions about the magistrate judge who filed the warrant. Local media reported Viar has at least two previous DUI convictions which have since come under increased scrutiny, one of which was not previously known to the public.

The first DUI took place in Coffee County on January 25, 2012, while she was the top prosecutor for Morris County.

The second occurred in Morris County when she was serving on August 12, 2012. Incidentally, it happened while she was running unopposed to keep the same seat. According to reports at the time, Viar drove off the road and crashed into a shed of a local high school; she was driving an 8th district judge’s car at the time and was not supposed to be driving.

The August 2012 incident should have violated her diversion agreement with Coffee County, but local media could not find court records that show prosecutors in that county were made aware of her second DUI. While the public was made aware of her second arrest through local media, the first DUI was never disclosed to the public.

It is also unclear what happened in the second case. The 8th District judges recused themselves from the case because of their closeness to it, and a special prosecutor, Wabaunsee County Attorney Norbert Marek Jr. was reportedly appointed, but the case goes cold after.

Editor and Publisher Eric Meyer considers a question from reporters about the aftermath of a local police raid on his newspaper's offices and his home, Wednesday, Aug. 16, 2023, in Marion, Kan. Meyer said the newspaper will not change its coverage of the community because of the raids.

© AP Photo / John Hanna

There are no records of the case in the state’s court record system and no follow-up articles appear in publicly available newspaper archives, but the arresting officer did confirm to local media that he remembered arresting Viar.

Viar never received a sanction from the state attorney discipline board and has since been reelected multiple times. On January 1 this year she was appointed as an 8th Judicial District magistrate judge.

A DUI conviction is not disqualifying for magistrate judges in the state of Kansas, but nominees are required to disclose them.

It is not known if Viar did, as interview questions, including criminal history, are confidential under Kansas Supreme Court rules.

Viar has not answered questions and a spokesperson for the Office of Judicial Administration said in a statement that “neither the judge or the court can comment on a pending matter that could come before the court.”

The Kansas Office of Disciplinary Administration likewise told local media it could not reveal if it was made aware of any criminal charges against Viar, only noting that “Judge Viar holds an active law license and has no prior attorney discipline.”

Viar will be up for reelection next year.

A stack of the latest weekly edition of the Marion County Record sits in the back of the newspaper's building, awaiting unbundling, sorting and distribution, Wednesday, Aug. 16, 2023, in Marion, Kan. The newspaper's front page was dedicated to two stories about a raid by local police on its offices and the publisher's home on Aug. 11, 2023.

© AP Photo / John Hanna

The Record has indicated that they will file a lawsuit against the county for violating the paper’s First Amendment rights.

Meyer added that the warrant being removed made him feel “vindicated,” and that his mother “didn’t die in vain.” He also noted that “it does nothing to recompense the paper for the violation of its First Amendment rights when the search was conducted and most regrettably, does not return Joann Meyer.”

The paper, which is published weekly, managed to publish its first edition after the raid on Wednesday, a task Meyer says took his staff working "throughout the night" with limited supplies to accomplish.