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Friday’s police raid of a small-town weekly newspaper within the Midwest — an indefensible and possibly unlawful assault on the free press — sparked international condemnation, because it ought to. The authoritarian operation underscored why fearless local journalism stays foundational to open authorities and a wholesome democracy.
Police in Marion, Kansas, seized computer systems, cellphones and different supplies on the Marion County Report’s workplace and the owner-publisher’s dwelling. The raid so disturbed the newspaper’s 98-year-old matriarch, Joan Meyer, that it doubtless contributed to her demise the subsequent day.
Media corporations and press organizations swiftly denounced the raid. People from Poughkeepsie to Seattle confirmed assist for the Report by shopping for newspaper subscriptions. The Marion paper, like most outposts of the local free press lately, wants all the assistance it could actually get.
The search warrant indicated authorities had been in search of proof of potential id theft and “illegal acts regarding computer systems.” Nevertheless, as The Associated Press reported, “Newspaper writer and co-owner Eric Meyer stated he believes the newspaper’s dogged protection of native politics and Police Chief Gideon Cody’s report are the principle cause for the raids.” The paper had simply revealed a story about a restaurateur who, at a Metropolis Council assembly, wrongly accused the Report of illegally acquiring details about her earlier drunken-driving incident.
Not like the police, the newspaper had acted cautiously, verifying that data offered by a supply however deciding to not publish it. Nor did the Report publish tales about Cody’s earlier employment report within the Kansas Metropolis police division. The newspaper investigated suggestions from a half-dozen or so nameless sources however couldn’t confirm inflammatory claims.
The Police Division’s thuggish method, abetted by the decide who signed the search warrant, exhibits why the Invoice of Rights was wanted to guard residents from governmental abuse. The Founders enshrined freedom of the press among the many 5 freedoms within the First Amendment. Congress in 1980 added the Privacy Protection Act that, with restricted exceptions, bars authorities from looking for or seizing materials from journalists. Kansas, Washington and different states have added their very own protections.
The press inconveniences many in energy, particularly those that insist they’re entitled to function with out the general public trying over their shoulders. The county prosecutor withdrew the search warrant and seized supplies had been being returned Wednesday, however that doesn’t resolve this ugly incident. A state investigation that’s underway have to be uncompromising, and native officers who licensed and performed this raid have to be held accountable.
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