Celebrate Kansas Newspaper Raid-A-Palooza

Everybody wants a piece of this story from a safe distance. 

Sorry . . . But from our vantage . . . This deets of a small town Kansas newspaper raid have already become tiresome until they (likely) confirm that the entire hot mess isn't a fight for the Constitution, free speech and your grandpa's farm but, more likely, just a grudge match over some Karen and her driver's license.

Still . . .This once again reminds us that not everybody in a small town is as nice as we'd like to imagine.

Another brief aside here that's not worth a headline . . .

This story worked out really bad for The Star.

The initial reporting was performed by a non-profit outlet and amid the ruckus it seems like the newspaper is just watching from afar like most of us. 

And so we start with a dead-tree breathy statement that kinda seems like a poor facsimile of the initial debate in much the same way that middle-class white ladies are still trying to recapture the magic of Sex & The City now that dating apps & passport bros have helped to level the playing field. 

Here's the word . . .  

We were shocked with outrage upon hearing the news and set out to criticize the police actions while asking for swift follow-up from the state legislative and judicial levels.

We ended the editorial with a promise: “In the meantime, The Wichita Eagle and The Kansas City Star stand ready to assist the Record in any way we can.”

A police raid on a newspaper is unusual . . . It calls to question First Amendment rights.

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . .

Why The KC Star and Wichita Eagle denounced Kansas newspaper police raid together | Opinion

The editorial boards operate independently, but spoke in unison on the importance of the First Amendment and free press in Marion, Kansas.

This federal law protects journalists from raids like the one in Marion, Kansas | Opinion

After the Zurcher v. Stanford Daily case, Congress gave journalists a form of privacy protection denied to them by the Supreme Court.

Related reading . . . 

Gov. Laura Kelly discusses police raid on Marion County Record, newspaper in central Kansas

Gov. Kelly spoke about to KMBC about the matter on Monday.

A newspaper raid in Kansas did not stop the presses, but did start scrutiny of local police

As the nation learns more about the raid of the Marion County Record, staffers at the publication keep working while advocates for press freedom offer support and demand answers from the local police.

Surveillance video shows police seizing items from Kansas newspaper office

Surveillance video obtained Monday by the KSHB 41 I-Team shows members of the Marion, Kansas, Police Department seizing computer equipment from the offices of the Marion County Record.

Police raided a small-town Kansas newspaper and its publisher's home. Here's what we know

Police raided the offices of the Marion County Record and the home of its publisher in an unprecedented and potentially illegal move that is being called a violation of First Amendment rights.

Marion County District Court says warrant affidavit 'just being put into the system'; public access pending

As reports circulate involving details of a law enforcement raid on the newsroom of the Marion County Record in south-central Kansas, additional questions have popped up.

First Amendment experts say police raid of Kansas newsroom was likely 'illegal'

Law enforcement officers raided the office of the Marion County Record newspaper and a journalist's home. First Amendment experts are calling it a likely violation of federal law, and an "abuse of power."

EXPLAINER: Why is a police raid on a newspaper in central Kansas so unusual?

The Marion Police Department took computers and cellphones from the office of the Marion County Record newspaper on Friday.

Journalism organization offers $20,000 to defend Kansas newspaper in wake of police raid, seizures

The Society of Professional Journalists offered $20,000 to legal defense of the Marion County Record, which was raided by local law enforcement Friday based on allegations the newspaper engaged in identity theft to secure information about a local merchant's drunken driving conviction. The newspaper says the information was legally obtained and the police search was illegal.

Police raid on Marion County newspaper raises First and Fourth Amendment concerns - The Sentinel

Kansas Justice Institute's Sam MacRoberts says the seizure at the Marion Recorder is unjustified based on what he has read so far.

Raided Marion County newspaper claims raid contributed to death of editor and promises lawsuit

The raid has made national and international news and has been widely condemned by First Amendment advocates.

'Tactics of a totalitarian regime': Kansas newspaper publisher discusses police raid

A raid on a small town newspaper office in central Kansas has generated international attention.

KBI asked to join investigation of allegations against local newspaper

The Marion Police Department and the Marion County Attorney have asked that the Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) join an investigation into alleged illegal access and dissemination of confidential

Rural Kansas police raid newspaper office amid rampant 'anti-press rhetoric'

Several press freedom watchdogs condemned the Marion Police Department's actions as a blatant violation of the U.S. Constitution's protection for a free press.

Developing . . .