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Apparently there's no probable cause affidavit filed with the court. A reporter for the paper requested a copy from the court and the court issued a signed statement saying no such affidavit was on file. I'm not a legal expert by any means, but I haven't seen from any angle the probable cause needed for a raid like this. All they have is the accusations of a lady who has admitted the info is accurate complaining that it's been discovered and assuming it was illegally obtained.
Kansas Reflector - Police defend raid on Kansas newspaper amid backlash over 'brazen violation of press freedom'
Kansas Reflector - Police defend raid on Kansas newspaper amid backlash over 'brazen violation of press freedom'
The newspaper said it was planning to file a federal lawsuit. Free press attorneys and advocacy groups rejected the police explanation for the raid.
“It appears like the police department is trying to criminalize protected speech in an attempt to sidestep federal law,” said Jared McClain, an attorney for the Institute for Justice, a libertarian law firm.
“The First Amendment ensures that publications like the Marion County Record can investigate public officials without fear of reprisal,” McClain said. “It chills the important function of journalism when police raid a newsroom, storm the homes of reporters, seize their property and gain access to their confidential sources. That’s precisely why we must hold accountable officers who retaliate against people who exercise their First Amendment rights.”
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Eric Meyer, the newspaper publisher, said a confidential source had provided documentation that Newell had been convicted of drunken driving in 2008 and had driven without a license. A reporter used the KDOR website to verify that the information was accurate, but the newspaper decided not to publish a story about the information.
Instead, Eric Meyer said, he notified local police of the situation. Marion police, in coordination with state authorities, launched an investigation and alerted Newell. They obtained a search warrant, signed by Magistrate Judge Laura Viar, for evidence of identity theft and criminal use of a computer.
“Basically,” Eric Meyer said, “all the law enforcement officers on duty in Marion County, Kansas, descended on our offices today and seized our server and computers and personal cellphones of staff members all because of a story we didn’t publish.”
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News of Friday’s raid attracted national attention and elicited condemnation from free speech organizations.
Shannon Jankowski, PEN America’s journalism and disinformation program director, said law enforcement should be held accountable for violations of the newspaper’s legal rights.
“Journalists rely on confidential sources to report on matters of vital public concern,” Jankowski said. “Law enforcement’s sweeping raid on the Marion County Record and confiscation of its equipment almost certainly violates federal law and puts the paper’s very ability to publish the news in jeopardy. Such egregious attempts to interfere with news reporting cannot go unchecked in a democracy.”
Max Kautsch, president of the Kansas Coalition for Open Government, said if there were evidence to justify an exemption to federal law protecting journalists from searches, it would be identified in the affidavit that supports the search warrant.
“It appears like the police department is trying to criminalize protected speech in an attempt to sidestep federal law,” said Jared McClain, an attorney for the Institute for Justice, a libertarian law firm.
“The First Amendment ensures that publications like the Marion County Record can investigate public officials without fear of reprisal,” McClain said. “It chills the important function of journalism when police raid a newsroom, storm the homes of reporters, seize their property and gain access to their confidential sources. That’s precisely why we must hold accountable officers who retaliate against people who exercise their First Amendment rights.”
.....
Eric Meyer, the newspaper publisher, said a confidential source had provided documentation that Newell had been convicted of drunken driving in 2008 and had driven without a license. A reporter used the KDOR website to verify that the information was accurate, but the newspaper decided not to publish a story about the information.
Instead, Eric Meyer said, he notified local police of the situation. Marion police, in coordination with state authorities, launched an investigation and alerted Newell. They obtained a search warrant, signed by Magistrate Judge Laura Viar, for evidence of identity theft and criminal use of a computer.
“Basically,” Eric Meyer said, “all the law enforcement officers on duty in Marion County, Kansas, descended on our offices today and seized our server and computers and personal cellphones of staff members all because of a story we didn’t publish.”
.....
News of Friday’s raid attracted national attention and elicited condemnation from free speech organizations.
Shannon Jankowski, PEN America’s journalism and disinformation program director, said law enforcement should be held accountable for violations of the newspaper’s legal rights.
“Journalists rely on confidential sources to report on matters of vital public concern,” Jankowski said. “Law enforcement’s sweeping raid on the Marion County Record and confiscation of its equipment almost certainly violates federal law and puts the paper’s very ability to publish the news in jeopardy. Such egregious attempts to interfere with news reporting cannot go unchecked in a democracy.”
Max Kautsch, president of the Kansas Coalition for Open Government, said if there were evidence to justify an exemption to federal law protecting journalists from searches, it would be identified in the affidavit that supports the search warrant.
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