A former Kansas police is being charged with one count of interference in the judicial process for the 2023 raid that sparked concerns about press freedom.

Marion Police Department’s former chief, Gideon Cody, is being charged as prosecutors alleged he convinced a witness to withhold evidence. 

Mr. Cody was involved in the controversial raid of the Marion County Record’s office on Aug. 11, 2023. Law enforcement also searched the home of the paper’s publisher and co-owner, Eric Meyer.

During the raid, Mr. Meyer’s 98-year-old was at home. She died a day after the raid, and the paper’s publisher attributed her death to stress from the search. 

The raid stemmed from allegations a reporter for the Record committed identity theft. It came after restaurant owner Kari Newell claimed the paper illegally released details about a previous DUI conviction as it questioned if that would block a restaurant from obtaining a liquor license. 

The paper insisted it obtained the records legally by searching the state Revenue Department’s database. 

Marion County Attorney, Joel Ensey, later determined “insufficient evidence exists to establish a legally sufficient nexus between this alleged crime and the places searched and the items seized.”

Ensey ordered law enforcement to return any items seized during the raid. 

Mr. Cody resigned weeks after the raid which drew national attention to Marion over concerns about press freedom.