The Louisiana attorney general, Republican Liz Murrill, was indicted by a grand jury in New Orleans on Thursday over accusations of intimidation and malfeasance. The 16-count indictment centers around allegations that she threatened the jobs of local leaders who opposed a Republican-led overhaul of the city's courts. The case has deepened rifts between state Republicans and Democrats, with Governor Jeff Landry promising a swift pardon for Murrill, while Mayor Helena Moreno, a Democrat, accused her of making threats against public officials. The dispute stems from a new law that abolished a court clerk office won by Calvin Duncan, an exoneree who spent nearly three decades in prison. New Orleans leaders strongly opposed the change, and in May, the city council set a special election to give Duncan a chance to win the consolidated job. Murrill responded by warning local officials of potential violations of state "usurper" laws. A bond of $400,000 was set for Murrill on Thursday, and she has filed for an emergency stay with the Louisiana Supreme Court. Republican state police have been ordered to investigate alleged improprieties of the grand jury and those who ran it. The case has sparked controversy, with the Republican Attorneys General Association calling the indictment "outrageous" and "dangerous." Duncan, who believes state officials are retaliating against him, spent more than 28 years in prison over a fatal shooting during a robbery in 1981. He was later exonerated, but Murrill and Landry have refused to acknowledge his innocence.