Hopefully it also raises alarms about corrupt cops and Qualified Immunity.
Police raid of a Kansas newsroom raises alarms about violations of press freedom
21–30 of 160 posts
Re: Police raid of a Kansas newsroom raises alarms about violations of press freedom
#22Hopefully it also raises alarms about corrupt cops and Qualified Immunity.
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Re: Police raid of a Kansas newsroom raises alarms about violations of press freedom
#23Who has authority to investigate the police department for this obvious corruption? Can anyone be held accountable?
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Re: Police raid of a Kansas newsroom raises alarms about violations of press freedom
#24Earlier quoted context omitted.
At least one of those is currently buried on 3rd page, despite "110 points by uptown 1 hour ago | ... | 19 comments". It sounds like a tragic and suspicious situation, and what I'm most curious about (since this is HN) is whether the federal government will step in, and figure out what's going on.
Every one of these turns into a flamewar of cynical "America bad, corruption is the norm, there is no free press, etc." comments.
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Re: Police raid of a Kansas newsroom raises alarms about violations of press freedom
#25If the article is even half accurate, they must be using a different definition of "identity theft" than the one I understand.
Are there any details about those allegations? I'd be interested to see what the warrant gave as cause. We seem to be jumping to the conclusion that these journalists are innocent.
We seem to be jumping to the conclusion that these journalists are innocent.
Just, Devil's Advocate.
Or, I guess, "Founder's Advocate"?
But isn't that what we're supposed to do here in the US?
I mean, you know, Constitutionally speaking?
Re: Police raid of a Kansas newsroom raises alarms about violations of press freedom
#26> "It is true that in most cases, [the Privacy Protection Act] requires police to use subpoenas, rather than search warrants, to search the premises of journalists unless they themselves are suspects in the offense that is the subject of the search," Cody said. Presumably the restaurant owner accusing the newspaper editor of identity theft gives good cover for the police chief to get a warrant and search for anything…
> That does give a veneer of legality to the raid.
I would have agreed, if it hadn't been for the County Attorney (who according to their website is "the chief law enforcement officer in Marion County."[0]) putting his foot in his mouth, and the paper exposing the relationship between him and the restaurant owner. It makes it pretty clear what actually is going on here.
> A Record reporter later requested a copy of the probable cause affidavit necessary for issuance of the search warrant.
> District court, where such items are supposed to be filed, issued a signed statement saying no affidavit was on file.
> County attorney Joel Ensey, whose brother owns the hotel where Newell operates her restaurant, was asked for it but said he would not release it because it was “not a public document.”
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[0]: https://web.archive.org/web/20230215034526/https://www.mario...
Re: Police raid of a Kansas newsroom raises alarms about violations of press freedom
#27Sounds like this restaurant owner has some friends high up on the force?
There's also the relationship between her and the county attorney.
> County attorney Joel Ensey, whose brother owns the hotel where Newell operates her restaurant
Re: Police raid of a Kansas newsroom raises alarms about violations of press freedom
#28If the article is even half accurate, they must be using a different definition of "identity theft" than the one I understand.
Are there any details about those allegations? I'd be interested to see what the warrant gave as cause. We seem to be jumping to the conclusion that these journalists are innocent.
The warrant[1] doesn't seem to provide much information and the affidavit used to secure the warrant has yet to be produced.[2]
[1] https://kansasreflector.com/2023/08/11/police-stage-chilling...
[2] https://kiowacountypress.net/content/opinion-powerful-voices...
Re: Police raid of a Kansas newsroom raises alarms about violations of press freedom
#29There's been some interesting updates to the story.
The Marion Record was in the process of investigating the Marion police chief. He used to work for the Kansas City (MO) PD. Allegedly, he was demoted for "sexual misconduct" before he quit and came to work for Marion.
This reveal comes in an interview of the Marion Record's publisher. It's an interesting read and he's an interesting guy. One of the old school reporters, in a very good way.
https://thehandbasket.substack.com/p/a-conversation-with-the...
The other new development is the Kansas Bureau of Investigation revealed they were part of building the case against the newspaper. KBI didn't participate in the raid, but were otherwise working with the Marion police.
https://kansasreflector.com/2023/08/13/kbi-director-on-mario...
Re: Police raid of a Kansas newsroom raises alarms about violations of press freedom
#30> "It is true that in most cases, [the Privacy Protection Act] requires police to use subpoenas, rather than search warrants, to search the premises of journalists unless they themselves are suspects in the offense that is the subject of the search," Cody said. Presumably the restaurant owner accusing the newspaper editor of identity theft gives good cover for the police chief to get a warrant and search for anything…
> That does give a veneer of legality to the raid. I would have agreed, if it hadn't been for the County Attorney (who according to their website is "the chief law enforcement officer in Marion County."[0]) putting his foot in his mouth, and the paper exposing the relationship between him and the restaurant owner. It makes it pretty clear what actually is going on here. > A Record reporter later requested a copy of t…
Slightly off topic, but how do you get to be a county attorney, and still be this oblivious to propriety? Did he believe nothing would come of this and it would all just go away?
I honestly can't see how anyone with a law degree would have even touched this situation under the same circumstances. Journalists? Preexisting business relationships that are documented and freely available to the public.
Jeez, at least hide stuff in holding companies or trusts or something. What were these guys doing?