MARION, Kan. (NEWSnet/AP) — A newspaper and police department in Marion, Kansas, are at the center of a dispute over freedom of the press, after police raided the office of Marion County Record and the home of its owner and publisher.

Officials from Marion Police Department on Friday confiscated computers and cellphones from Eric Meyer, the newspaper’s publisher and co-owner, and staff. Meanwhile, Meyer said, police simultaneously raided the home, seizing computers, his cellphone and an internet router.

Watchdogs are condemning the action as a blatant violation of the U.S. Constitution’s protection for a free press.

Meyer said one reporter suffered an injury to a finger when Police Chief Gideon Cody wrested a cellphone from her hand. The newspaper's surveillance video shows officers reading the reporter her rights as Cody watches, although she is notarrested or detained.Based on the footage, employees were hustled out of the building as the search continued for more than 90 minutes.

The searches apparently were prompted by a complaint from a local restaurant owner, Kari Newell, who accused the newspaper of invading her privacy after it obtained copies of her driving record, which includes a 2008 conviction for drunken driving.

Meyer maintains that the newspaper’s aggressive coverage of local politics and Cody’s record are the main reason for the raids.

On Sunday, Cody said the raid was legal and tied to a criminal investigation.

A search warrant tied the raids, led by Cody, to a dispute between the newspaper and Newell. She is accusing the newspaper of illegally accessing information about her and her driving record, a claim Meyer disputes.

She also suggested the newspaper targeted her after she ordered Meyer and a reporter to leave her restaurant earlier this month, during a political event for U.S. Rep. Jake LaTurne. Newell said she removed them at the request of others who are upset with the “toxic” newspaper.

Although Newell accuses the newspaper of unlawfully seeking information on the status of her driver's license, the newspaper countered that it received that information unsolicited, and verified it through public online records. Eventually, The Record decided not to published a story because it could not confirm the source had obtained it legally. But the newspaper did run a story on the city council meeting, in which Newell confirmed she had a DUI conviction and she continued to drive after her license was suspended.

A search warrant, signed by a local judge, lists Newell as the victim of alleged crimes by the newspaper. When the newspaper asked for a copy of the probable cause affidavit required by law to issue a search warrant, the district court issued a signed statement saying no such affidavit is on file, the Record reported.

Cody indicated probable cause affidavits were used to obtain the warrants. When asked for a copy, Cody replied in an email late Sunday that the affidavits would be available “once charges are filed.”

Cody defended the newsroom raid, saying there is an exception to the federal requirement for a subpoena — not just a search warrant — to do so “when there is reason to believe the journalist is taking part in the underlying wrongdoing.” Cody did not provide details about the alleged wrongdoing and did not respond to questions about how police believe Newell was victimized.

Press freedom and civil rights organizations have said police overstepped their authority with the raids.

Both Meyer and Newell are contemplating lawsuits — Newell against the newspaper and Meyer against the public officials who staged the raid.

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