St. Louis’ top prosecutor sues city, police union, others, accusing them of racist conspiracy to push her out of office

(AP) St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner has filed what she calls an unprecedented federal civil rights lawsuit, accusing the city, the local police union and others of a coordinated and racist conspiracy aimed at forcing her out of office. In the lawsuit field Monday, Gardner, the city’s elected prosecutor, accuses “entrenched interests” of intentionally impeding her efforts to reform racist practices in the criminal justice system. The lawsuit alleges civil rights violations as well as violations of the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871. Gardner is black. The defendants named in the lawsuit are white.

You’ll best remember Gardner for her decision to attempt to prosecute former Missouri Governor Eric Greitens in 2018. That case was later dropped.