Sundance review: 'Seized' chronicles with fascinating detail a battle between a small-town paper and local officials who appeared eager to stifle it

As an old newshound, I was primed to like “Seized,” director Sharon Liese’s documentary about a small-town Kansas newspaper’s legal battle against the town’s overreaching officials — but what made me fall for the movie was how Liese, like a good reporter, digs deeper to get the full story.

The part of the story that most people know about: On Aug. 11, 2023, police in Marion, Kansas, raided the offices of the town’s weekly newspaper, the Marion County Record, seizing computers, cellphones and materials used in reporting. They did the same at the home of the paper’s editor, Eric Meyer, raising the ire of Meyer’s 98-year-old mother, Joan, whose husband joined the paper in 1948 — and who bought the paper in 1998.

The story gained even more traction nationally when Joan Meyer died the next day, reportedly from the stress caused by the police seizure.

Liese’s documentary raises some serious questions about the actions of the Marion police, the county sheriff, the county prosecutor and the judge who approved the search warrant — and how all of their actions appear to be clear violations of the First Amendment protections for a free press. 

The movie also shows how city and county officials’ gripes about the Marion County Record, and Eric Meyer in particular, go back decades. Meyer talks about a 2004 story, about an algae-contaminated reservoir and the conflicting information he got from city officials — including one who is now Marion’s mayor. The Record also had done investigative work about the police chief’s history at other police departments, which among some residents Liese interviewed smacked less of watchdog journalism than a grudge against the chief.

“Seized” shows Meyer to be a gruff old-school journalist, particularly when juxtaposed with a cub reporter who arrives about a year after the raids. Their conversations provide, in a nutshell, a look at where American journalism has been and where it’s going, and the continued battles the profession faces from technology, anti-press politicians and a distracted audience.

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‘Seized’

★★★1/2

Screening in the U.S. Documentary competition of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. Not rated, but probably PG-13 for some strong language. Running time: 94 minutes.

The film screens again: Monday, Jan. 26, 1:10 p.m., Redstone Cinemas 2, Park City; Tuesday, Jan. 27, 9:30 p.m., Broadway Centre Cinemas 6, Salt Lake City; Thursday, Jan. 29, 8:30 a.m., Park City Library, Park City; Saturday, Jan. 31, 2:30 p.m., Redstone Cinemas 4, Park City. Also screening on Sundance’s web portal, Thursday through Sunday, Jan. 29 to Feb. 1.