photo by: Chance Parker/Journal-World photo

Kansas Governor Laura Kelly speaks at the debut of KU's new plans to renovate David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium on Aug. 15, 2023.

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly expects the Kansas Bureau of Investigation to review the decision-making process of law enforcement officials in Marion County who raided the offices of that community’s newspaper last week.

“If they are doing their job, they are going to be looking at every angle,” Kelly said Tuesday when asked by a reporter about whether the KBI investigation would be reviewing the tactics and decisions of Marion County law enforcement. “I anticipate that is what they are going to do.”

The Marion Police Department executed a search warrant at the offices of The Marion County Record and also at the publisher’s home on Friday. The Associated Press has reported that the warrants were tied to a dispute between the newspaper and a local restaurant owner, Kari Newell. She is accusing the newspaper of invading her privacy and illegally accessing information about her and her driving record and suggested that the newspaper targeted her after she threw the newspaper’s publisher and editor, Eric Meyer, and a reporter out of the restaurant during a political event.

The KBI confirmed this week that it was taking an active role in the investigation in Marion County.

The search warrant and raid have drawn national and international attention to Kansas, as several press organizations have labeled the actions of law enforcement a violation of the U.S. Constitution.

Kelly, on Tuesday, stopped short of agreeing with those assertions, but said she understands why the incident is attracting so much attention.

“I’m not surprised it is gaining national attention,” Kelly said. “It is potentially a very big issue. I’m always one to wait until we have all the facts before us before I say much or make any kind of judgment.

“I appreciate that we have the KBI involved with this and others. I’m going to wait to see what comes out so I don’t jump to any kind of judgment.”

Kelly was in Lawrence on Tuesday as part of a University of Kansas announcement regarding renovations to the university’s football stadium.