Marion official raised concern, city said stay out of ‘hear say.’ Then her home was raided

A Marion city councilwoman’s home was raided a week after she raised concerns about whether a local businesswoman should hold a liquor license after an alleged DUI on her record. An email from a city official warned to stay out of the situation.

The Aug. 11 raid on City Councilwoman Ruth Herbel’s house, the Marion County Record and the home of the owners of the newspaper, prompted global concerns about the rights of the free press.

A week before the raid, Herbel emailed Brogan Jones, Marion’s city administrator, about Kari Newell, who owns a restaurant and cafe in Marion. The restaurant’s liquor license, issued to the original owners of the restaurant that Newell took over in February, was set to expire at the end of August.

“You do know that she has been supposedly convicted of DUI. Maybe (Police Chief Gideon) Cody could check this out. This information was put on Facebook,” Herbel wrote in the email.

Jones quoted Herbel’s message in an Aug. 4 email to Mayor David Mayfield, which was obtained by The Star through an open records request. Jones said that the “Chief/PD will not be looking into this” in reference to the allegations against Newell.

“We as a city need to stay out of this ‘hear say’ or whatever else you want to call it,” Jones said.

Four days later, Jones forwarded that message to Gideon Cody, Marion’s chief of police, according to the documents obtained by The Star.

Jones’ email was cited in the affidavit for the search on Herbel’s home, but Mayfield and Jones’ names were redacted from the copy that was released by the district court on Aug. 19.

Jones declined to comment Monday when asked about his email. Herbel did not respond to a request for comment.

According to unofficial minutes for the Marion City Council’s Aug. 7 meeting, the council voted 4-1 to approve a request by Newell to move forward on a liquor license for Chef’s Plate. Herbel voted no.

It’s unclear what transpired in the days that followed, but in an affidavit signed Friday, Aug. 11, Chief Cody wrote that the department was investigating allegations that Newell’s driving records had been accessed illegally by a reporter and Herbel.

Searches were carried out at The Record, the home of the newspaper’s owners and Herbel’s residence. Several devices were seized from the three locations, including Herbel’s iPhone.

Three days after the raid as the story gained international attention, Mayfield wrote to Jones saying, “I really don’t have a need to talk to anybody about this situations and I am not returning calls to anyone regarding this matter.”

Later that week, the seized items were ordered to be returned after Marion County Attorney Joel Ensey concluded there was “insufficient evidence” to establish a link “between this alleged crime and the places searched and the items seized.”

The Kansas Bureau of Investigation took over the case. The agency said on Sunday that the investigation is ongoing.

The reporter who searched for driver’s license information accessed data that the Kansas Department of Revenue says is open to the public.

Reporter Deb Gruver has filed a federal lawsuit alleging her First and Fourth Amendment rights were violated during the raid. Additional lawsuits are expected.

This story was originally published September 25, 2023 at 11:04 AM.