Rick Snyder Charged With Misdemeanors for Poisoning Thousands—First Governor Ever Criminally Charged

Former Michigan Governor Rick Snyder is indicted on two misdemeanor charges of willful neglect of duty in connection to the Flint water crisis, becoming the first governor or former governor in Michigan’s 184-year history to be charged with crimes related to their time in office. Eight other officials face a total of 34 felony counts and seven misdemeanors—41 counts in all—but Snyder, who presided over the catastrophe, receives only misdemeanors carrying a maximum sentence of one year in prison and $1,000 fine per count.

The charges come seven years after the April 2014 water switch that poisoned an entire city, and 18 months after prosecutors dropped all previous charges to “restart” the investigation. Snyder pleads not guilty and posts $10,000 bond, facing charges that drastically understate the severity of his role in enabling a public health catastrophe that exposed 6,000-14,000 children to permanent neurological damage and killed 12 people in Legionnaires’ disease outbreaks.

The inadequacy of the charges reflects deep failures in accountability: Snyder’s emergency manager law stripped democratic power from Flint’s elected officials, his administration prioritized cost savings over public health, state officials under his leadership concealed evidence and attacked whistleblowers, and the 18-month delay in addressing the crisis caused irreversible harm to thousands of children. Yet he faces only misdemeanors.

The other eight officials charged include former health department officials accused of involuntary manslaughter for deaths from Legionnaires’ disease. The disparity is striking: lower-level officials face serious felony charges, while the governor who created the anti-democratic emergency manager system and set the cost-cutting mandate receives a slap on the wrist.

Flint residents and advocates express bitter disappointment at the weakness of charges against Snyder. The misdemeanor charges carry minimal deterrent effect and send a message that powerful officials who poison predominantly Black, poor communities face few consequences. The charges would ultimately be dismissed on procedural technicalities in 2022, ensuring Snyder faced zero accountability.