A Kansas town will pay $850K to end a reporter’s lawsuit over a 2023 raid on her paper’s offices
Summary
A small town in Kansas agreed to pay $850,000 to settle a lawsuit from a reporter over a 2023 police raid on her newspaper’s office. The reporter said the raid violated press freedoms and caused her serious health problems. The settlement ends one of several lawsuits related to the raid.Key Facts
- The town of Marion, Kansas, will pay $850,000 to former reporter Phyllis Zorn to end her federal lawsuit.
- The lawsuit claims a 2023 police raid on the Marion County Record newspaper office violated constitutional press freedoms and protections against unreasonable searches.
- Zorn said the raid caused her to suffer seizures that had been controlled for years.
- The raid brought national attention to Marion, a small town of about 1,900 people.
- The Marion Police Chief, Gideon Cody, initiated the raid investigating alleged identity theft, but legal experts said the raid was not justified.
- Cody resigned after the raid and later faced felony obstruction of justice charges for allegedly trying to influence a witness.
- In November, Marion agreed to pay over $3 million total to settle five lawsuits connected to this incident.
- Some legal claims remain pending, with a pretrial hearing scheduled for October 15.
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