Texas Gov. Rick Perry was indicted by a grand jury on Friday on two felony counts of abuse of power and coercion for allegedly trying to pressure a public official to resign.

The Travis County grand jury indictment stems from the Republican governor's threat to veto funding for the state's Public Integrity Unit, which is run by Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg, unless she stepped down after she pleaded guilty to drunk driving.

Lehmberg's office investigates statewide allegations of corruption in politics and government. However, Perry, a potential GOP candidate in the 2016 presidential election, promised to block Texas from funding the unit while Lehmberg remained in charge, reports the Washington Post.

The Austin-based district attorney also faced pressure from other high ranking GOP leaders to step down in wake of her drunk driving incident in April 2013, reports ABC 13. Still, Lehmberg stayed in office after she served about half of her 45-day jail sentence.

Perry supporters say that the governor has the right to cut state funding from agencies run by people who will not quit on his demand.

His attorney David L. Botsford called the indictment a "political abuse of the court system." He added that the action "violated the separation of powers" and "sets a dangerous precedent by allowing a grand jury to punish the exercise of a lawful and constitutional authority afforded to the Texas governor," reports CNN.

Likewise, Mary Anne Wiley, general counsel for Perry's office, said the "veto in question was made in accordance" with the authority "afforded to every governor" under the state's constitution.

However, prosecutors argue that his funding veto and the threat were an attempt to intimidate and coerce the Democratic district attorney.

In the wake of the indictment, the Texas Democratic Party released a statement calling for the governor to resign.

"Governor Rick Perry has brought dishonor to his office, his family and the state of Texas. Texans deserve to have leaders that stand up for what is right and work to help families across Texas. The indictment today shows a failure of Governor Perry to follow the law. This is systematic of a broader problem: Ken Paxton is facing a possible indictment and Attorney General Abbott has refused to rule on whether Governor Perry can use taxpayer dollars to cover his legal expenses. We call on Governor Perry to immediately step down from office. Texans deserve real leadership and this is unbecoming of our Governor."