A Kansas-based newspaper, The Marion County Record, announced on Monday plans to file a lawsuit against the local police over raids it says violated the First Amendment protections and caused a 98-year-old newspaper co-owner to die as a result of distress.

On Friday, the police raided the newspaper's office and the homes of its owners, seizing phones, computers, and file servers of personnel. 

A day later, Joan Meyed, 98, collapsed and died at her home due to being  "stressed beyond her limits and overwhelmed by hours of shock and grief," the newspapers said on Sunday. 

"The Record is expected to file a federal suit against the City of Marion and those involved in the search, which legal experts contacted were unanimous in saying violated multiple state and federal laws, including the U.S. Constitution, and multiple court rulings," they added.  

One publisher, Eric Meyer, said the police raids resembled those of the Gestapo. 

"We will be seeking the maximum sanctions possible under law," he said.  

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The raid was the result of a complaint filed by a local restaurant owner who accused The Record of illegally acquiring and disseminating sensitive information on a drunk-driving conviction against her. 

During the search, the staff was given a two-page warrant. 

More than 30 major news outlets have condemned the raid, noting that the police's actions had clearly violated the First Amendment to the US Constitution.  

"Your department’s seizure of this equipment has substantially interfered with the Record’s First Amendment-protected newsgathering in this instance, and the department’s actions risk chilling the free flow of information in the public interest more broadly, including by dissuading sources from speaking to the Record and other Kansas news media in the future," the group of newspapers wrote to the police department. 

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