A small town newspaper located in Marion Kansas was raided on August 11, 2023.  There is a lot of controversy regarding the businesses right to the first amendment in relation to this issue, seeing as the police justified their actions by saying that the newspaper “ …illegally obtained and used personal information about a local business owner,” according to AP Daily’s coverage of the issue. The first amendment of the United States outlines the citizen’s right to free speech, expression and press. As stated in AP Daily “Friday’s raids have been widely condemned by press freedom watchdogs as a blatant violation of the U.S. Constitution’s protection for a free press.” There is currently a lawsuit filed against the police department for its “illegal” actions against journalism. Although a small town of only 1900, they have something to say in defense of the police’s actions. The citizens claim that the newspaper’s coverage has threatened businesses and painted a bad light on the small town and its people. This issue has created a lot of awareness for the newspaper and many people are speaking out in favor of it. Programs such as the Society of Professional Journalism have given $20,000 to aid the newspaper in defending itself regarding legal matters. The search warrant has since been withdrawn and all seized items have been returned to the business due to “insufficient evidence” as stated by NBC news. Journalists can only hope this was a one time occurrence, and not the first of many.