The town of Marion, Kansas, has agreed to pay $850,000 to a former reporter at its weekly newspaper to settle a federal lawsuit stemming from a 2023 police raid on the paper's offices. The raid had sparked national attention and concerns over press freedom.
Phyllis Zorn, a retired reporter for the Marion County Record, argued in her lawsuit that the raid infringed upon press freedoms and constitutional protections against unreasonable searches. She also stated that the incident aggravated existing health issues, leading to the recurrence of seizures that had been previously managed with medication.
Attorneys for both Zorn and the city of Marion filed a joint statement on Tuesday, the third anniversary of the raid, announcing the dismissal of Zorn's lawsuit. This settlement is part of a broader resolution of legal actions filed against local officials concerning the raids, which also targeted the home of Publisher Eric Meyer and that of a former city council member.
Marion County had previously agreed in November to pay slightly over $3 million to parties involved in five lawsuits, including $600,000 to Zorn, to resolve claims against its officials. While some remaining claims against the city and its officials are being settled or have been dismissed, others are still pending, with a pretrial hearing scheduled for October 15.
The raids occurred amid an investigation by Marion Police Chief Gideon Cody into whether the newspaper had committed identity theft or other crimes by accessing a local restaurant owner's state driving record. However, subsequent examinations of the raids concluded they were not legally justified. Meyer, Zorn, and others involved believed the raids were retaliatory actions in response to the newspaper's critical local reporting and its efforts to investigate Cody's law enforcement background.
The events brought national scrutiny to Marion, a town of approximately 1,900 residents. Police Chief Gideon Cody resigned following the incident. Eric Meyer's 98-year-old mother, who co-owned the paper and lived with him, died the day after the raids. Meyer attributes her death to the stress caused by the raid on their home.
Separately, questions surrounding Cody's conduct after the state initiated an investigation into the raid led two special prosecutors to file a felony obstruction of justice charge against him in state district court. Prosecutors allege that Cody persuaded a witness, the restaurant owner, to withhold information from authorities. He has pleaded not guilty, and a trial initially set for late October has been postponed.