Outlet reports Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill indicted by New Orleans grand jury in case tied to local court changes

A New Orleans grand jury has returned criminal charges against Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill, an outlet reported Thursday, as the case drew renewed attention to a Republican-backed effort to reshape Orleans Parish court administration. The outlet said the allegations concern efforts to intimidate local officials who opposed changes brought by a state law enacted by GOP legislators.

The reported case is tied to a Louisiana statute approved shortly before Calvin Duncan was scheduled to take office in May. According to reporting summarized by the Associated Press, the law eliminated the position of Orleans Parish criminal court clerk after Duncan, a jailhouse lawyer and founder of a nonprofit focused on access to courts for incarcerated people, won the clerk post with 68% of the vote.

Reporting said Attorney General Murrill told eight New Orleans officials, including Mayor Helena Moreno and District Attorney Jason Williams, that they could face removal from their jobs for opposing the law. The reported allegations frame the attorney general’s communications as attempts to pressure local officials during the implementation period for the statute.

The clash over the court overhaul has been described as a dispute between state legislative and executive actions and local election outcomes in Orleans Parish. Reporting said legislators approved the law at Republican Gov. Jeff Landry’s urging just days before Duncan took office, and Duncan supporters characterized the changes as a way to thwart voters in a predominantly Black Democratic local setting within a red state.

The outlet reporting also said bond for Murrill was set at $400,000 on Thursday, citing court records. The reporting said Landry responded by criticizing the indictment and promising a pardon “as fast as the law allows,” without detailing the legal basis for the timing.

It is not yet clear, based on the material provided for this story, whether the U.S. Department of Justice has issued a formal announcement confirming the grand jury action or describing the specific counts in the indictment. The underlying case remains subject to the criminal process, including arraignment and court filings that would lay out the charges and any defense response.

If the indictment is confirmed in official court records, the next steps would typically include formal notice of charges, scheduling of court proceedings, and litigation over motions and jurisdictional or constitutional issues that may be raised by the defense. In parallel, implementation of the court-related changes enacted by the Louisiana Legislature would likely remain a central point of contention for local officials and affected offices.