Charges have officially been filed against former Michigan Governor Rick Snyder for his role in ignoring the Flint water crisis. After a five-year investigation, Snyder has been charged with willful negligence for neglecting his duty to protect the people of Flint. According to reports, Snyder may face fines and up to a year in prison if convicted.

The Daily Wire reports:

Charges are expected against others in Snyder’s administration, which lasted from 2011 through 2018, including his state health director and a senior adviser.

“The alleged offense date is April 25, 2014, when a Snyder-appointed emergency manager who was running the struggling, majority Black city carried out a money-saving decision to use the Flint River for water while a regional pipeline from Lake Huron was under construction,” the AP reported. “The corrosive water, however, was not treated properly and released lead from old plumbing into homes in one of the worst manmade environmental disasters in U.S. history.

Despite desperate pleas from residents holding jugs of discolored, skunky water, the Snyder administration took no significant action until a doctor reported elevated lead levels in children about 18 months later.”

Democrats across the country blamed Snyder first and foremost for the crisis, but Flint has been run by Democrats for decades. At the time of the water crisis, the city had a Democrat mayor – and former President Barack Obama’s Environmental Protection Agency tried to cover up the issue, as the city did nothing about the poisoning until the problem became widespread. Emails between the two showed neither had any sense of urgency regarding the contamination.

The water crisis resulted in thousands of children drinking lead-contaminated water which can lead to serious developmental problems. Reports also claim the Flint water crisis also lead to an outbreak of Legionnaire’s disease which killed 12.