PITTSBURGH — The state Attorney General’s Office is moving a lawsuit from county court to federal court that involves a handful of horse owners who claim their animals were maliciously taken.

Senior Deputy Attorney General Thomas Donahoe, representing a state trooper named as a defendant, filed the notice with the United States District Court last week.

The lawsuit alleges the defendants, including the trooper and Equine Angels Rescue of Cabot, maliciously took horses from owners and harmed their reputations to get publicity and generate donations for the rescue group.

The lawsuit asks the courts to return the horses to the plaintiffs.

The notice filed by Donahoe says the case belongs in federal court because it alleges civil rights violations.

A spokesman for the Attorney General’s Office could not be reached for comment.

Butler attorney Alexander Lindsay, who represents the plaintiffs said only that his clients are prepared to move forward with their case whether it is heard in county court or federal court.