Marion County Record search warrant withdrawn; equipment returned

Eric Meyer, owner and publisher of The Marion County Record, in his office.

Courtesy of the Kansas Reflector     

By Sherman Smith

MARION — Marion County Record staff worked through the night to publish the paper’s weekly edition as scheduled Wednesday, days after police raided the newsroom and confiscated computers, cellphones and other items.

A single word screamed across the top of the paper in 200-point bold type — “SEIZED” — followed by a defiant statement: “… but not silenced.”

Authorities returned property taken by police during Friday’s raid but said they would continue to investigate whether a newspaper reporter had committed a crime by verifying information from a confidential source.

Eric Meyer, the owner and publisher of the newspaper, said it was important the newspaper prevail in this First Amendment fight.

“This just couldn’t stand,” Meyer said. “If it did, it would be the end of people ever being able to send anything anonymously to a newspaper. It would be the end of news organizations ever pursuing any sort of controversial story.”

To read more, go here.

To read a commentary by Doug Anstaett on the Kansas Reporters' Shield Law and why it should have been followed, go here.