PUBLIC ENEMY #1

Restaurateur Behind Kansas Newspaper Raid Breaks Her Silence

“I’ve probably got 600 or 700 messages saying I have blood on my hands,” she said.

Kari Newell—the local restauranteur who complained that a Kansas newspaper stole her identity after reporters looked up her driving record on a public database, prompting an infamous police raid that inspired international headlines—has no regrets and remains defiant, despite a groundswell of hate messages from across the world she claims have flooded her phone in recent weeks. Newell accused the Marion County Register of illegally accessing her driving records, which revealed a DUI arrest, even after the paper decided not to publish a story containing the information. Her accusation led to cops raiding the newspaper’s office and the home of its 98-year-old owner Joan Meyer, who died the next day. “I’ve probably got 600 or 700 messages saying I have blood on my hands, that I should go to jail for manslaughter, sued for wrongful death, that I killed that poor woman,” Newell told The Kansas City Star. Despite the overwhelming fallout, Newell’s suspicions about the paper are unwavering. “I still question the validity and the legality of [the newspaper’s actions],” she said.