LUFKIN, Texas — Gov. Greg Abbott announced Tuesday he has appointed a new district attorney for Angelina County after the previous officeholder resigned from the role.
Layne Thompson, of Pollok, will serve as the district attorney of the 159th Judicial District in Angelina County for a term that is set to expire on Dec. 31 this year or until his successor is elected.
Thompson was an assistant district attorney for the Angelina County District Attorney’s Office and the Harris County District Attorney’s Office.
The appointment comes after now former Angelina County District Attorney Janet Cassels resigned from her position effective Monday. She had sent a letter to Abbott in December after serving as the district attorney for about four years. Cassels was appointed as district attorney in April 2020.
In the resignation letter, Cassels claimed she became a "political target" and there were attacks against the DA's Office and investigators for doing their job.
Thompson is an attorney, former of counsel for Mike Love & Associates and former vice president of Thompson Cattle Company. He's also chairman of the Angelina Arts Alliance, former board president of the of the Naranjo Museum of Natural History, former president of the Kiwanis Club of Lufkin, and former board vice president of the Museum of East Texas, according to Abbott's news release.