The initial online search spurring a raid on a Kansas paper was legal, a state agency says – By John Hanna (Associated Press) / Aug 21, 2023
A Kansas Department of Revenue spokesperson says the initial online search of a state website that led a central Kansas police chief to raid a local weekly newspaper was legal
MARION, Kan. — The initial online search of a state website that led a central Kansas police chief to raid a local weekly newspaper was legal, a spokesperson for the agency that maintains the site said Monday, as the newspaper remains under investigation.
Earlier this month, after a local restaurant owner accused the Marion County Record of illegally accessing information about her, the Marion police chief obtained warrants to search the newspaper’s offices and the home of its publisher, as well as the home of a City Council member who had some of the same information as the newspaper.
The police chief led the Aug. 11 raids and said in the affidavits used to obtain the warrants that he had probable cause to believe that the newspaper and the City Council member had violated state laws against identity theft or computer crimes.
