Back in the U.S., Kansas police raided local newspaper the Marion County Record and the home of its publisher and co-owner Joan Meyer Friday, seizing computers and other materials. One day later, on Saturday, 98-year-old Joan Meyer died. The paper blamed the police action, which it said “stressed beyond her limits.” The raid reportedly stemmed from a dispute between the newspaper and a local restaurant owner who accused the Marion County Record of illegally obtaining information about a drunk driving incident. But it appears the newspaper had also been actively investigating Marion Police Chief Gideon Cody over sexual misconduct charges at a previous job in Kansas City. Details about that investigation were on a computer seized in the raid.

Over 30 news organizations and press groups published an open letter to Marion’s police chief blasting the raid, writing, “Newsroom searches and seizures are among the most intrusive actions law enforcement can take with respect to the free press, and the most potentially suppressive of free speech.” The group Reporters Without Borders said the seizure may violate federal law.