Louisiana’s Republican attorney general was indicted on Thursday on criminal charges by a grand jury in New Orleans, accused of trying to intimidate local officials who fought a law enacted by GOP legislators to overhaul the local courts.

Liz Murrill, the attorney general, told eight New Orleans officials, including Helena Moreno, the mayor, and Jason Williams, the district attorney, that they could face removal from their jobs because of their opposition to the law.

It eliminated the position of Orleans parish criminal court clerk after Calvin Duncan, a man who spent decades in prison for a wrongful conviction, was elected to the post with 68% of the vote.

Legislators approved the law at the urging of the Republican governor, Jeff Landry, just days before Duncan was to take office in May. Duncan’s supporters saw it as a move by a majority-white conservative legislature to thwart the will of voters in a predominantly Black Democratic hub in a red state.

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