What’s Happening:
Most Americans will never face the tragic loss of life it has taken to protect and preserve constitutional rights in this country. Still, today in America more journalists are facing bold threats from government officials who want to shut down God-given freedoms, censor speech and oppress those with different opinions.
One 98-year-old woman defied the government to the end, fighting for all our rights. Joan Meyer, co-owner of a storied Kansas newspaper, stood up to armed police officers rummaging through her home and loudly protested their actions. She died the next day.
Now her family has learned that the police had no right to raid her home and family members are mourning the loss of their beloved matriarch. She was defiant to the end as the police ignored her pleas and kept up with their acts violating her rights in her own home. It was all caught on video.
From Fox News and the New York Post:
“Don’t you touch any of that stuff,” she says at the start of the minute-long clip, wearing a robe and slippers and standing behind a walker.
“Ma’am,” one officer begins, before she cuts him off barking, “This is my house!”
Meyer’s son, Marion County Record Publisher Eric Meyer, released the video this week after a state official said the raid was unfounded. Police based the raid of his mother’s home and the newspaper offices on information about an alleged unlawful online search of records. A state official determined that the action was not a crime.
Last week Marion County Attorney Joel Ensey withdrew the search warrants and ordered Marion Police to return all seized items, finding no legal basis for the case against the paper or its staff. That doesn’t bring back a lost loved one in the Meyer family.
The younger Meyer has blamed his mother’s death on undue stress caused by the raids, which he calls “illegal” and has likened to “Gestapo tactics.”
There are many layers to this story leading up to Joan Meyer’s defiance against the unwarranted police raid. Police reasons for obtaining the warrants came after the newspaper reported negatively about a local business owner. Reporters were also investigating allegations about the city’s new police chief and a claim the department purposely overlooked his driving without a license.
Funny thing is the paper hadn’t run with the story about the police chief – they were cautiously pursuing valid sources – but that didn’t stop the police raids. The raid, according to news reports, happened before court filings to justify search warrants were filed in court. An attorney for Eric Meyer said the supporting court affidavits weren’t filed until three days after the raids.
Joan Myer fought the injustice to the end, pushing her walker around the house and berating police officers. Before she died, Myer described the police department’s behavior as “Hitler tactics,” according to an attorney for the newspaper and Myers family.
Appropriate words in response to the violence against a patriot who worked until the end to protect the freedoms of all Americans. Let’s hope the Myers gain some form of justice in holding the police responsible for their defiance of the Constitution and our rights.
Key Takeaways:
- 98-year-old woman tells police to take a hike during unwarranted raid.
- Police allegedly raided newspaper offices and home before getting warrants.
- Stress from the police attacks credited with causing woman’s death.
Source: Fox News
