After Kansas Reflector reported on the ignominious and unconstitutional raid of the Marion County Record on Aug. 11, news outlets and commentators from across Kansas and the nation followed suit throughout the weekend. The voices of those who value a free press and free expression were overwhelming in their force and intensity.

Eight days later, with the Record’s equipment returned and reporters digging into circumstances surrounding the raid, it can be tempting to think that justice has been done. Time to pack up, nothing more to see here. Freedom has won, and we can all sail into the sunset.

Nothing could be further from the truth. We still need answers and consequences in the case itself. More broadly, the egregious overreach in Marion and the good faith of journalists at the Record made this a perfect national story. Few would think that authorities got this one right. The problem, as journalists across the States Newsroom network told us, is that attacks on a free and fair press are not rare at all. Indeed, such attacks have become distressingly commonplace.

When powerful people go after journalists and news outlets, they go after everyone. They go after publications’ readers. They go after voters who use information reported to make decisions. They go after other politicians who may have opposing messages or interests.

Ultimately, they go against the constitutional order of this country, which guarantees First Amendment rights to everyone.

Or, as national president of the Society of Professional Journalists Claire Regan said, “By all accounts, the raid was an egregious attack on freedom of the press, the First Amendment and all the liberties we hold dear as journalists in this great country.”

Make no mistake: Popular speech seldom requires government protection. Officials in Russia don’t worry about cute cat calendars or a lifestyle magazine promoting Vladimir Putin as the sexiest man alive. Speech that many would consider offensive or outrageous or simply impolite would be easy to shut down without the protections inscribed in our founding documents.

Aggressive journalism and pointed commentary doesn’t always feel good. It’s not supposed to. Those who would shut it down might claim they’re trying to restore civic peace or look out for the common welfare. Ultimately, however, they are harming the Constitution and country they claim to love.

Let’s look at a few outrages big and small from across the United States. Editors from other States Newsroom outlets sent their own accounts:

Missouri

Missouri Independent editor Jason Hancock writes: In Missouri, few elected officials have had a more combative relationship with the press than Gov. Mike Parson. He regularly lashes out with baseless attacks on the media, and during his tenure in office he cut the number of statehouse parking spaces designated for reporters and revoked Capitol building passes for the press.

But all that pales in comparison to his push to prosecute a St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter who uncovered a security flaw in a state website.

Top officials in Parson’s administration initially wanted to thank the reporter, but instead, Parson convened a news conference to call the reporter a hacker, accuse the Post-Dispatch of trying to embarrass a Republican governor and to push for the reporter to face a criminal investigation.

Even after prosecutors and local law enforcement concluded no crime was committed, Parson refused to accept reality and continued to insist the reporter engaged in wrongdoing.

Iowa

Iowa Capital Dispatch editor Kathie Obradovich writes: In Iowa, a reporter from the Des Moines Register was pepper-sprayed and arrested by Des Moines police during a May 2020 protest of George Floyd’s death at the hands of Minneapolis police. Although Andrea Sahouri identified herself as a reporter who was covering the protest, she was put on trial for failure to disperse and interference with official acts. A jury acquitted her in 2021.

Other attacks on press freedom have come in the form of violations of the open records act and new restrictions in media access to state and local government. The Republican-controlled Iowa Senate permanently removed media from press seating on the chamber floor in 2022 after more than a century. A group of journalists and openrecords advocates, including Iowa Capital Dispatch, sued Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds and members of her staff for violations of the open-records law, including failing to respond to requests for public records for as long as 18 months. The suit was settled earlier this year after the Iowa Supreme Court affirmed that the governor’s office was subject to the law and that its response time was unreasonable.

Clay Wirestone serves as Kansas Reflector’s opinion editor. Kansas Reflector is a nonprofit news operation providing in-depth reporting, diverse opinions and daily coverage of state government and politics. More information at https:// kansasreflector.com/