Special prosecutors announced Monday that they plan to charge former Marion Police Chief Gideon Cody with criminal obstruction of justice related to his conduct after a controversial raid on the Marion County Record.
The raid, which targeted the newspaper and its publisher, Eric Meyer, sparked a national debate on press freedoms. Prosecutors concluded that Cody’s actions, including withholding crucial evidence, obstructed the judicial process.
They found no evidence of wrongdoing by Meyer or reporter Phyllis Zorn, who were wrongly accused of identity theft and computer crimes. The exact nature of the charge—felony or misdemeanor—has not yet been determined, and the formal filing of the case may take additional time.
Cody resigned shortly after the raid, which also led to the return of seized materials and the death of Meyer’s 98-year-old mother, attributed to the stress of the event.
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