Judge drops suit alleging racist efforts to oust prosecutor

A federal judge has tossed out a lawsuit filed by St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner and blasted her claims that she was the victim of a coordinated and racist conspiracy aimed at forcing her from office.

Gardner, the city’s elected prosecutor, claimed in the suit that “entrenched interests” were intentionally impeding her efforts to reform racist practices that have led to a loss of trust in the criminal justice system.

U.S. District Judge John Ross wrote that Gardner’s lawsuit “can best be described as a conglomeration of unrelated claims and conclusory statements supported by very few facts, which do not plead any recognizable cause of action.”