Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens was indicted Thursday on a felony invasion of privacy charge and taken into custody.
The charge against the governor apparently stems from a 2015 affair. Greitens, 43, allegedly threatened to release a nude photograph of a woman, blindfolded and hands bound, if she talked publicly about the relationship.
The Republican is serving his first term. He took office in January 2017.
"As I have stated before, it is essential for residents of the City of St. Louis and our state to have confidence in their leaders," said Kimberly Gardner, circuit attorney for the city of St. Louis, said in a statement Thursday.
News of Greitens' affair first broke last month. He acknowledged the relationship but told the Associated Press that he did not try to coerce the woman.
"This was a consensual relationship," he told the AP last month. "There was no blackmail, there was no violence, there was no threat of violence, there was no threat of blackmail, there was no threat of using a photograph for blackmail. All of those things are false."
Before becoming governor, Greitens was a Navy SEAL and Rhodes Scholar.