Former Michigan governor Rick Snyder, who ran the state during the devastating 2014 Flint water scandal, is being charged in the crisis that led to the outbreak of the Legionnaires’ disease in which 12 people died.
According to online court records, he is facing two charges of willful misconduct and will face up to a year in prison and a $ 1,000 fine.
“We believe there is no evidence to support any criminal charges against Governor Snyder,” defense attorney Brian Lennon told The Associated Press Wednesday night, adding that state prosecutors did not provide him with details.
Requests for comment by NBC News from Lennon were not immediately returned. The Office of the Attorney General did not comment.
Others in his administration may also be charged.
Snyder and others will appear in court on Thursday and a news conference by Attorney General Dana Nessel and prosecutors is expected to follow.
The decision by Snyder’s administration in 2014 to switch Flint from Detroit’s water system to the Flint River led to the disaster, as the untreated river water resulted in pipe corrosion and lead pollution.
Criminal charges were filed in 2017 against a number of government officials, including former head of the state health department, Nick Lyon, over the outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease, simultaneously with the contaminated water crisis. Lyon is accused of learning of the outbreak in 2015 and of not notifying the public for a year.
Prosecutors in 2019 dismissed charges against eight people, including Lyon.
Some experts say that the contaminated water in the city led to the outbreak of the disease Legionnaires, a serious form of pneumonia caused by bacteria that thrive in hot water.
Bryant Nolden, a Genesee County commissioner who runs a historic recreation center in Flint, celebrated the news that possible charges would include the former governor.
“The goat stopped at Governor Snyder’s,” he said. “He was the person who put the people in place who actually did it. We have to see how it all plays out, but I’m very happy to hear that some people will be held accountable at the highest level.”
Nolden said he and his neighbors in Flint were disappointed when Snyder himself did not charge round earlier. “I was a little worried that it would not go to the ladder to him.”
When Snyder is held accountable, he will not repair the damage done in Flint, including the rising prices of children in need of special education services – but it will improve morale among residents.
“The people here are very resilient,” he said. ‘We got it right and we’re dealing with it, but I think it’s going to help in a small way to let them know that justice will serve, because these people will be held accountable for the injustice they did here. community. “
Residents of Flint, a city with a majority black population, have been struggling for years to recover from the crisis as they rely for months on bottled water as their primary source of clean water and see property values suffer.
The state agreed in April to a $ 600 million settlement for Flint residents whose health was harmed in a class action lawsuit, and established a fund where residents can file compensation.
