Additional Coverage:
- Kansas town will pay $850K to end reporter’s lawsuit over a 2023 raid on her paper’s offices (nbcnews.com)
TOPEKA, Kan. – The small town of Marion, Kansas, has agreed to pay $850,000 to former Marion County Record reporter Phyllis Zorn to resolve her federal lawsuit stemming from a 2023 police raid on the newspaper’s offices. The raid sparked widespread concern about press freedom across the nation.
Zorn, now retired, claimed the raid infringed upon constitutional protections of the press and shielded against unreasonable searches by law enforcement. She also reported that the incident triggered a recurrence of serious seizures she had previously managed with medication.
On the third anniversary of the raid, attorneys for Zorn and the city of Marion jointly announced the dismissal of her lawsuit. This case was one of several lawsuits filed in federal court against local officials related to the raids, which also targeted the homes of the newspaper’s publisher, Eric Meyer, and a former city council member.
Marion Police Chief Gideon Cody initiated the raids amid an investigation into whether the newspaper had improperly accessed a local restaurant owner’s driving records. However, subsequent reviews deemed the raids legally unjustified. Meyer, Zorn, and others viewed the actions as retaliation for the paper’s investigative reporting, including inquiries into Cody’s law enforcement background.
The events thrust Marion, a community of roughly 1,900 people located about 150 miles southwest of Kansas City, into the national spotlight. Following the controversy, Chief Cody resigned. Meyer’s 98-year-old mother and co-owner of the paper, who lived with him, passed away the day after the raid-a loss Meyer attributes to the stress caused by the police action.
In November, Marion County agreed to a broader settlement exceeding $3 million to resolve five lawsuits related to the raids. This included a separate $600,000 payment to Zorn. While many claims have been settled or dismissed, some legal matters remain pending, with a pretrial hearing scheduled via Zoom for mid-October.
Meanwhile, state investigations into Cody’s conduct have resulted in felony obstruction of justice charges, accusing him of persuading a witness to withhold information. Cody has pleaded not guilty, and his trial, originally set for late September, has been postponed.