Office manager of Kansas newspaper raided by police settles lawsuit with town

(CN) — The office manager of the Marion County Record, a Kansas weekly newspaper whose offices were raided by police, has settled her lawsuit with the city.

The office manager’s attorney, Eric Weslander of Stevens & Brand in Lawrence, Kansas, said in an email that he couldn’t provide any details of the settlement, but that “the matter was resolved in a mutually agreeable manner.”

Police and county sheriff’s deputies raided the offices of the Marion County Record in August 2023, as well as the homes of its publisher, Eric Meyer, and a local city councilwoman. The searches sparked widespread outrage at what many said was a gross violation of the First Amendment, and briefly thrust the tiny town of Marion — population 1,943 — into the national spotlight. The news was even discussed during a White House press briefing.

The day after the raids, Meyer’s 98-year-old mother Joan, who was in his house when police burst through the door, died. According to a lawsuit Meyer would later file, she told the officers, “You know, if I have a heart attack and die it’s going to be all your fault.”

The searches were apparently prompted by a complaint from a local restaurant owner, who said the newspaper illegally obtained copies of her driving record. But they may also have been the consequence of the town’s fractious political climate.

The town’s mayor, David Mayfield, had frequently attacked the vice mayor and the town’s only newspaper, the Record. In an editorial, Meyer called the mayor a “dictator,” a “bully” and someone who “shows his disdain for the democratic process." Mayfield responded in kind, posting on Facebook about his desire to recall the vice mayor and “silence” the Record.

“The real villains in America aren’t Black people,” Mayfield’s post read. “They aren’t white people. They aren’t Asians. They aren’t Latinos. They aren’t women. They aren’t gays. They are the radical ‘journalists,’ ’teachers’ & ‘professors’ who do nothing but sow division between the American people.”

The police chief who ordered the newsroom raid, Gideon Cody, was suspended and later resigned. He has since been charged criminally with obstruction of justice for supposedly persuading a potential witness to withhold information from investigators.

Five lawsuits were filed over the raids: one by the office manager, Cheri Bentz, whose primary duties involved bookkeeping; two by reporters; one by the vice mayor, Ruth Herbel; and one by Meyer on behalf of himself, his late mother and the newspaper.

In her federal civil complaint, Bentz said she was “was detained, interrogated, separated from her belongings, and treated like a criminal suspect for simply doing her job in furtherance of the Record’s protected First Amendment activity.” She added: “As a result of the raid and the actions of law enforcement set out herein, Bentz has lost sleep, has seen her daily quality of life diminish, has seen her social relationships impacted, and has faced aggravated health conditions.”

After Benz’s settlement was announced for an undisclosed figure, Meyer said in an email: “As her employer, I am pleased Cheri now can have some sense of closure, nearly two years after the raid, which severely disrupted her life and the stress of which contributed to health problems.”

Last year, one of the reporters, Deb Gruver, whose cellphone was forcibly yanked from her hands by Cody during the raid, reached a $235,000 settlement against the city. Her claims against the county are still active, as are the other three lawsuits.

In March, a federal judge denied motions by the city and county of Marion to dismiss Meyer’s claims, though he did trim some of the lawsuit.

“At this procedural juncture, the court concludes that plaintiffs have alleged a cognizable conspiracy theory,” said U.S. District Judge Daniel Crabtree, a Barack Obama appointee. “The amended complaint alleges that the conspiracy had a clear goal, that the defendants took specific actions to carry out the plan and that each defendant participated in the conspiracy.”

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