By C1 Staff
AUSTIN, Texas — Facing two felony counts for abuse of power, Governor Rick Perry surrendered himself to the Travis County Jail on Tuesday.
The charges stem from his response to Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg’s DWI arrest in April 2013, according to Wall Street Journal. He allegedly improperly threatened to veto $7.5 million in funding for the Travis County Public Integrity Unit, which handles political-corrupt investigations in Texas, if Lehmberg didn’t resign following her arrest for drunken driving.
The charges include abuse of official capacity, which carries a maximum punishment of 99 years, and coercion of a public servant, which could lead to between two and 10 years behind bars.
Perry spoke to reporters outside the jail before and after entering the facility, and also addressed a crowd of supporters and opponents waving signs, according to KVUE.
“I am here today because I did the right thing. The actions I took were lawful and right. If I had to do so, I would veto the money for the Public Integrity Unit, again.”
After having his mugshot and fingerprints taken, Perry thanked the deputies for courteous treatment and called the indictment a “fundamentally … political act. I will not be distracted by this baseless, political charges.”
Perry’s lead attorney called the charges “a complete waste of time and money,” but said Perry would do everything that anyone else in that situation would have to do.
After Perry surrendered himself to the jail, he tweeted this photo:
And then, ice cream cone at #Sandy‘s pic.twitter.com/rDYW6HvoS5
— Rick Perry (@GovernorPerry) August 19, 2014