A Kansas county has agreed to pay more than $3 million and issue a formal apology for the 2023 police raids on the Marion County Record newspaper and several private homes, an incident that sparked national outrage and raised deep concerns about the state of press freedom in the United States.
The settlement marks the conclusion of a two-year legal battle that began when law enforcement officers raided the Record’s newsroom and two residences on August 11, 2023. One of the homes belonged to 98-year-old co-owner Joan Meyer, who collapsed and died the following day. Her son, Eric Meyer, now the publisher of the paper, has said the county’s apology and financial settlement are meant to send a message far beyond Marion County.
Marion County’s formal apology, issued with the settlement, stated that 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 warrant.”
According to the Record, the settlement includes $200,000 to Eric Meyer, whose home was raided and whose devices were seized; $250,000 to reporter Deb Gruver; $300,000 to the Record; $600,000 to reporter Phyllis Zorn; $650,000 to former vice mayor Ruth Herbel and her husband, Ron, whose dementia was aggravated by the stress of the raid; and $1 million to the estate of Joan Meyer. Business manager Cheri Bentz, who suffered health complications after the raid, had previously reached a $50,000 settlement.
Attorney Bernie Rhodes, who represented the Record, told the paper, “This is a first step—but a big step—in making sure that Joan Meyer’s death served a purpose, in making sure that the next crazed cop who thinks they can raid a newsroom understands the consequences are measured in millions of dollars.”
The 2023 raids were conducted under search warrants related to an alleged identity theft investigation. Critics and press advocates argued the warrants were invalid and motivated by retaliation. At the time of the raids, the Record had been investigating sexual misconduct allegations involving then–Marion Police Chief Gideon Cody. A Kansas judge later ruled that Cody likely committed a felony when he instructed a witness with whom he had an improper romantic relationship to delete text messages they exchanged before, during, and after the raids.
Cody will face trial over the deleted text messages, but he has not been charged in connection with the raids or with Joan Meyer’s death.
Eric Meyer said the settlement and admission of wrongdoing were the most important outcomes. “The admission of wrongdoing is the most important part. In our democracy, the press is a watchdog against abuse. If the watchdog itself is the target of abuse, and all it does is roll over, democracy suffers.”
The Marion County Record’s newsroom, which serves a town of about 1,900 residents roughly 150 miles southwest of Kansas City, became the focus of national debate after officers seized the paper’s electronic equipment, work materials, and records. For the journalists involved, the raid represented an unprecedented attack on local news reporting.
Katherine Jacobsen, the U.S., Canada, and Caribbean program coordinator for the Committee to Protect Journalists, called the settlement “an important win for press freedom amid a growing trend of hostility toward those who hold power to account.” She added, “Journalists must be able to work freely and without fear of having their homes raided and equipment seized due to the overreach of authorities.”
Eric Meyer emphasized that the case was about justice, not financial gain. “The goal isn’t to get the money. The money is symbolic,” he told the Associated Press. “The press has basically been under assault.”
Joan Meyer’s death the day after the raid continues to cast a shadow over the settlement. Meyer said his mother had warned officers that the stress they were putting her under might lead to her death. After her passing, he said, “No one can trample on the First and Fourth Amendments for personal or political purposes and get away with it. When my mother warned officers that the stress they were putting her under might lead to her death, she called what they were doing Hitler tactics.”
He continued, “What keeps our democracy from descending as Germany did before World War II is the courage she demonstrated—and we’ve tried to continue—in fighting back.”
Reflecting on the raid, Rhodes recalled Joan Meyer’s words to the officers who stormed her home. “Boy, are you going to be in trouble,” she told them. “She was so right,” Rhodes said.
Five consolidated federal civil rights lawsuits were filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas, alleging wrongful death, unlawful searches, and retaliation for protected speech. “It’s a shame additional criminal charges aren’t possible,” Eric Meyer said, “but the federal civil cases will do everything they can to discourage future abuses of power.”
For the Meyers, the outcome is a step toward accountability, but not closure. “This never has been about money, the key issue always has been that no one is above the law,” Meyer said.
The settlement signals one of the largest payouts of its kind related to press freedom violations in recent U.S. history. Yet for many journalists, the events in Marion remain a reminder of how fragile constitutional protections can be, particularly for small, local news outlets that lack the resources of national organizations.
As the federal civil rights cases continue, the Marion County Record remains in operation, its reporters determined to continue the work that triggered the raid in the first place. For Eric Meyer and his team, the mission now extends beyond local journalism—it is about ensuring that what happened in Marion never happens again.
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