More than two years after police launched an unprecedented raid on a small Kansas newspaper, the county where the raids occurred will pay $3 million as part of a civil judgment. The money will go to three journalists and a former city council member.
In August 2023, the Marion Police Department, with help from the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, conducted raids on the Marion County Record newspaper, the publisher’s home and a former member of the Marion City Council. The agencies claimed the newspaper’s staff committed identity theft during the paper’s investigation of a local business. That claim was rejected by the special prosecutors assigned to the case.
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Eric Meyer, owner of the newspaper, told Straight Arrow News the lawsuit was not about the money, but about sending a message to those who abuse their power.
“Stop being bullies,” Meyer said. “There’s this trend in the country right now that you bully everybody and take the justice system and weaponize it against people … and it wasn’t meant for that.”
The 2023 raids prompted widespread backlash from First Amendment advocates and everyday Americans alike, raising concerns about freedom of the press.
Marion County will pay Meyer $1.5 million. The county will also pay $600,000 to Phyllis Zorn and $250,000 to Deb Gruver, two journalists who worked at the weekly paper at the time of the raids.
According to Meyer, Zorn retired early Sunday morning. As for Meyer, he told SAN he has no plans to retire. He is now looking to hire more staff.
The county will pay the remaining $650,000 to Ruth Herbel, a former city council member whose home was also raided.
Herbel told SAN she demanded an apology from the sheriff’s office, which remained largely unscathed following the raids. The sheriff’s office met that demand in two of the four agreements finalized on Monday. While Meyer and Herbel received apologies, Zorn and Gruver did not.
“The Sheriff’s Office wishes to express its sincere regrets to Eric and Joan Meyer and Ruth and Ronald Herbel for its participation in the drafting and execution of the Marion Police Department’s search warrants on their homes and the Marion County Record. This likely would not have happened if established law had been reviewed and applied prior to the execution of the warrants,” the statement read.
Herbel told SAN she plans to give all of the money to her three children and five grandchildren.
“This wasn’t about the money for me, and that’s why I gave it away,” Herbel said. “It was about the principle — to stop them and hold them accountable.”
Herbel’s attorney also sent Straight Arrow News a statement responding to the settlement.
“The Marion Sheriff’s Office helped draft and execute a bogus warrant on the Herbels’ home in retaliation for Ruth’s political speech. Their participation in the raids is inexcusable,” Institute for Justice Senior Attorney Jared McClain, who represented Herbel, said in a statement. “We’re grateful that they’ve owned up to violating the Herbels’ rights and apologized. We look forward to continuing our fight for accountability against the city officials who instigated this whole lawless mess.”
SAN left a message with Jeff Kuhlman, the attorney for Marion County, but did not immediately receive a response.
The civil case against the city of Marion and its former police chief, Gideon Cody, remains open.
Meyer told SAN he did not want to bankrupt the county, but wants those involved to feel some financial pain.
“The money’s never been important,” Meyer said. “It’s more the acceptance of wrongdoing.”
Meyer lived with his mother, Joan Meyer, at the time of the raids, one of which occurred at their home. Joan, who was 98, died the following day.
“I hope she would feel vindicated,” Meyer told SAN. “She’d also say, ‘Why the hell did it take so long?’”
