The former Kansas police chief who led raids on a Marion County Kansas newspaper August 11, 2023, journalists and its 98-year-old co-owner will face criminal charges after an independent investigation found evidence he interfered with the legal process.
Joan Meyer, the 98-year-old co-owner of the Marion County Record, died the day after police knocked on her door with an improperly obtained search warrant. She had appeared on home security video demanding officers "get out." Prosecutors later withdrew the warrants, stating then-Police Chief Gideon Cody had not provided sufficient evidence to obtain them properly.
"It’s not surprising that fair-minded law enforcement officials would conclude that journalism is not a crime, but destroying evidence is," Bernie Rhodes, an attorney for the newspaper, told Fox News Digital Monday. "So I’m pleased that the special prosecutors realized that Gideon Cody is not a fair-minded law enforcement officer, and that he should suffer the consequences for his decisions."
After an independent investigation, special prosecutors revealed Monday plans to charge Cody, who resigned last year, with interfering in the judicial process, the Kansas City Star reported earlier.
The special prosecutors, Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett and Riley County Attorney Barry Wilkerson, also found that neither the newspaper nor its journalists had committed any crimes before they were raided.
'This is my house': Kansas newspaper publisher releases video of police ... https://t.co/mhKNHeIlZf via @YouTube
— Tom Benson (@Tombenson1) August 6, 2024
According to their 124-page report, obtained by the Star, the raid likely played a role in Meyer's death, but the officers who conducted it were not criminally responsible.
Separately, the Record is suing the city and other officials, including Cody, the mayor and the county sheriff, in connection with the alleged First Amendment violation.
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