Shocking update in case of 98-year-old newspaper owner who was raided by cops in First Amendment fight

Special prosecutors investigating last year's law enforcement raid on a Kansas newspaper office, its owners' home and the home of former city official have announced a bombshell update.

Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett and Riley County Attorney Barry Wilkerson announced in a 124-page report on Monday that former Police Chief Gideon Cody will be charged with interfering with the judicial process, the Kansas City Star reports.

The charge - which will be filed in Marion County District Court in the coming days - appears to be centered on text messages between Cody and local business owner Kari Newell in the days following the August 11, 2023 raid

But the lengthy report does not fault officers for the death of Marion County Record owner Joan Meyer, 98, who died one day after her house was raided in the investigation.

It also clears a Marion County Record reporter and everyone else who looked into Newell's driving record of wrongdoing - as the information that she received a DUI and had her license suspended was available on a public website.

'It's not surprising that fair-minded law enforcement officials would conclude that journalism is not a crime, but destroying evidence is,' Bernie Rhodes, an attorney for the community newspaper told Fox News after the report was released.

'So I'm pleased that the special prosecutor realized that Gideon Cody is not a fair-minded law enforcement officer and that he should suffer the consequences for his decisions.'

Former Marion Vice Mayor Ruth Herbel - who has since filed a lawsuit against several local officials, including Cody, for the raid on her house - said she was also glad to be cleared of any wrongdoing.

But, she said she was disappointed Cody is the only one facing a criminal charge.

'I'm sad that more people - more players have not been charged because it went past Cody,' she told the Kansas City Star.

'There were a lot more people involved in  this whole process, and it's caused a lot of damage to Marion and to the people who were involved.' 

The raids on August 11, 2023 came just days after Newell, a former coffee shop owner, accused Marion County Record reporter Phyllis Zorn illegally accessed her private information to confirm a tip that she had been convicted of a DUI 15 years before.

Police officer Zach Hudlin then called the Kansas Department of Revenue  about their system, and a representative told him the agency was 'trying to fix' an issue because 'anybody can pull' up information, according to the special prosecutors' report.

He then 'reached the erroneous conclusion' that Zorn falsified her identity to access Newell's driving record, it says.

It is unclear whether Hudlin reached the conclusion because of confirmation bias, a rushed investigation or a misunderstanding of what the representative was saying, the report notes.

The report also says that nobody from the Marion County Police Department interviewed Zorn about how she got the information. 

Still, then-Police Chief Cody penned court documents saying he had probable cause to believe the newspaper and Herbel violated state laws against identity theft or computer crimes. 

Officers then raided the Marion County Record offices, as well as the homes of Herbel and newspaper co-owners Joan and Eric Meyer.

Video of the police raid on Joan Meyer’s home would later go viral, showing her yelling at the officers to 'get out' just one day before she would die.

'Don't you touch any of that stuff,' the Marion County Record co-owner told cops in the footage as she moved around her home with a walker. 'This is my house. You assh**e!'  

Announcing Joan's death the following day, the newspaper's website read: 'She had not been able to eat after police showed up at the door of her home. Neither was she able to sleep Friday night. 

'She tearfully watched during the raid as police not only carter away her computer...but also dug through her son Eric's personal bank and investment statements.'

The woman had been 'in good health' for her age, but died over the weekend, Eric said.

He has said that when he woke his mother to offer her breakfast the next day she died mid-sentence.

Eric now blames her death on the grief and stress from the raid, and a coroner's report states that Joan died of sudden cardiac arrest.

'I am perturbed — I carefully chose that word — as all get out about them raiding our office, but what bothers me most is a 98-year-old woman spent her last day on earth feeling under attack by bullies who invaded her house,' he said.

The special prosecutor's report also noted that Joan may not have died if the raids had not been carried out - but concluded that officers were not criminally responsible for her death.

In the aftermath, the Marion County Record alleged the police department was trying  to retaliate against its investigation into Cody's history.

He had left the Kansas City Police Department while under internal review for allegedly making sexist comments to a female officer.

Eric said his newspaper was contacted by Cody's former colleagues about the claims but that the six-plus anonymous sources ultimately never went on the record - and reporters could not obtain Cody's personnel file.

He said the identity of the sources was on the computer servers, which Cody's team seized. 

During the raid on the newspaper office, Cody even looked through a reporter's desk and asked: 'What's in this? Hmm, a file on me? Keep a personal file on me, I don't care,' according to the Kansas City Star.

But the file was not removed from the newsroom during the raid - and the special prosecutors have concluded there was no evidence to suggest Cody conducted the raid out of retaliation.

'If Chief Cody harbored ill-motived toward the Marion County Record, he managed to keep them hidden in personal communication wit other officers, both verbal and electronic,' the report said.

It goes on to note that 'it is not a crime under Kansas law for a law enforcement officer to conduct a poor investigation.' 

But as news of the raids spread nationally - and even internationally - shining a negative light on the Marion County Police Department, Cody tried to defend his actions.

He told Marion County Attorney Joel Ensey that the Kansas Bureau of Investigation was '100 percent behind me.'

A KBI investigator, however, said Cody 'had to live in fantasy land to get that picture' and went on to describe the officer as 'a rabid squirrel in a cage,' according to the Star.

In fact, the Kansas Bureau of Investigations found that there was not enough evidence to have launched the tirade against the local paper -  and revoked the police department's warrant. 

Still, Cody persisted, preparing charging affidavits on Eric Meyer, Zorn and Herbel - accusing them of violating federal law, even though state prosecutors would not have a role in such cases.

Those charges were never filed.

He then allegedly instructed Newell to delete text messages.

Amid the investigation into the raids, Cody was placed on administrative leave and resigned from his position on Oct. 2.

He has since been replaced by Hudlin.

The Colorado Bureau of Investigation then took over the case in mid-November and handed over its investigation to the special prosecutors.

They concluded in their report that there was 'no evidence that Marion law enforcement agents recognized the inadequacy of the investigation or intentionally or knowingly misled either other law enforcement agents of the court.'

They also said the warrant for the newspaper was 'insufficient to overcome additional protections afforded to the press by virtue of the Kansas Shield Law,' which grants protections to journalists.

It also says that search warrants on newsrooms 'should be sought only in extraordinary circumstances and with extreme caution.' 

Meanwhile, the newspaper is suing  city and other officials - including Cody, the Marion mayor and county sheriff - alleging that the raid violated their First Amendment right to press protection and their Fourth Amendment right to unlawful search and seizure.

They are seeking more than $10million in damages. 

'This is the type of stuff that, you know, Vladimir Putin does, that Third World dictators do,' Meyer previously told the AP.

'This is Gestapo tactics from World War II.'