It has been almost eight months since law enforcement raided the Marion County Record’s newsroom, and the lawsuits are a-coming. A third employee of the news outlet has filed a lawsuit against the police department with a series of allegations.
Cheri Bentz, the newspaper’s office manager, has filed a federal lawsuit alleging unlawful detention, interrogation, and seizure of her cellphone during the August 2023 raid. The action on the part of law enforcement was widely panned as an encroachment on First Amendment protections of freedom of the press.
Cheri Bentz alleges in the suit filed Friday in federal court that she was unlawfully detained and interrogated, and had her cellphone seized.
Two other employees, reporter Phyllis Zorn and former reporter Deb Gruver, sued previously over the Aug. 11 raid of the Marion County Record’s newsroom. Police also searched the home of Publisher Eric Meyer that day, seizing equipment and personal cellphones.
Then-Marion Police Chief Gideon Cody, who is among the defendants in the suit, said he was investigating whether the newspaper committed identity theft or other crimes in accessing a local restaurant owner’s state driving record. Cody later resigned following the release of body camera video of the raid showing an officer searching the desk of a reporter investigating the chief’s past.
The implications of the raid have reached far beyond the news outlet. It sparked a national conversation about the protection of journalistic sources. The raid occurred after the newspaper published stories about a restaurant owner who ejected reporters from a meeting that involved a member of Congress on the premises and the restaurateur’s conviction for drunk driving.
The situation began earlier in August when Meyer was kicked out of a local coffee shop. The establishment was hosting a United States congressman for an event and the owner was concerned about how the journalist might cover the proceedings:
Earlier this month, Meyer said he was at Kari’s Kitchen, a coffee shop Newell operates, for a public meeting event with US Representative Jake LaTurner, a Republican who represents the area. While it was a public meet-and-greet event, Meyer said he and his reporter, Phyllis Zorn, were asked to leave.
“I was standing in line waiting to get a drink at the coffee shop where we were and the police chief came up to us and said you’ve been asked to leave by the coffee shop owner,” Meyer said. “She said we don’t want the media in here, so they threw us out.”
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Meyer said Zorn then received a tip about Newell allegedly driving without a valid driver’s license after a traffic offense in 2008.
Newell confirmed to CNN that she had asked Meyer and his reporter to leave during the public meet-and-greet event with Rep. LaTurner because she believes the newspaper “has a long-standing reputation for twisting and contorting comments within our community.”
“When they came into the establishment, I quietly and politely asked them to exit,” Newell said. “I didn’t feel that their constituents needed to be exposed to any risk of being misquoted.”
In her lawsuit, Bentz recounts being shocked and confused about the raid, characterizing it as “unprecedented” and “retaliatory.” The lawsuit discusses how she explained to officers that she was not involved with the newspaper’s reportage, saying, “I have no idea because what they do – I have no idea.”
Former Police Chief Gideon Cody resigned in October, just days after being suspended. He has been implicated in the legal action. He initially justified the raid as part of an investigation into whether the news outlet had committed identity theft or other crimes by accessing public information about the restaurant owner’s driving record. Officers also raided the home of 98-year-old Joan Meyer, co-owner of the newspaper and the mother of Eric Meyer, who ran the outlet. She tragically passed away the day after the raid.
The raid represents a critical flashpoint in the discussion over press freedom in America. Bentz’s lawsuit adds to the chorus of voices speaking out against the actions of law enforcement. The outcome of the proceedings could affect how journalism is protected under the law.
