St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner on Monday filed what she called 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.
![St. Louis prosecutor: Racist interests try to force her out](https://media.zenfs.com/en/ap.org/ca69137ffdb10833c52272da0cc4fdbc)
Gardner, the city's elected prosecutor, also accused “entrenched interests” of intentionally impeding her efforts to reform racist practices that have led to a loss of trust in the criminal justice system.
The lawsuit alleges civil rights violations as well as violations of the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871.