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Ex-Governor of Michigan Charged With Misdemeanor Over Flint’s Filthy Water

Rick Snyder faces a year in jail and a $1,000 fine if convicted of willful neglect of duty.

The former governor of Michigan has been charged with willful neglect of duty, a misdemeanor, over the drinking water crisis in Flint. Rick Snyder, in office from 2011 to 2018, faces a year in jail and a $1,000 fine if convicted. No other governor in the state’s history has been charged for their work in office, according to the Associated Press. Snyder’s defense attorney, Brian Lennon, said, “We believe there is no evidence to support any criminal charges against Gov. Snyder.” An emergency manager appointed by Snyder to oversee the majority-Black city’s water in 2014 chose to use water from the Flint River as the town’s main water pipeline was repaired. But the drinking water became a national symbol of neglect as it languished, brown and full of lead, and residents contracted Legionnaire’s disease, a form of pneumonia. A dozen residents died. Snyder said of the disaster in 2016, “I’m sorry and I will fix it.”