BATON ROUGE — Gov. Jeff Landry and Attorney General Liz Murrill on Saturday said that they will fight the Department of Justice's lawsuit against Louisiana and its correctional department that alleges it holds prisoners detained past their sentences, calling the lawsuit "frivolous."

“This is Grinch Joe Biden’s parting Christmas present to the State and the people of Louisiana. The Trump administration would likely have not allowed this case to be filed," a statement released by Landry's office said. "This is the same radical ‘justice’ department that goes after political opponents, targets Catholics, and sees concerned school parents as a threat."

The lawsuit is the result of a multi-year investigation into allegations of over-detention in the Louisiana Department of Correction's system, the DOJ said Friday. The allegations were first issued in a January 2023 report. 

The suit does not seek monetary damages, but it seeks injunctive relief to fix "deficient conditions" identified by the Department of Justice's investigation.

Landry and Murrill's statement did not directly address the issues raised by the DOJ.