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ST. LOUIS — A former Missouri chimpanzee caretaker could face federal charges at the request of a judge who says a documentary series shows her openly bragging about violating court orders, including an order to turn a movie star chimpanzee over to an animal rights group.

U.S. District Court Judge Catherine D. Perry has asked U.S. Attorney Sayler A. Fleming to charge Tonia Haddix with criminal contempt of court for repeatedly defying court orders for how to care for and transfer her chimpanzees.

The request is the latest development since People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals sued Haddix claiming she improperly cared for several chimpanzees, a saga captured in a new HBO documentary series, “Chimp Crazy,” released in August on streaming platform Max.

The series revealed new instances of Haddix defying court orders and “making a mockery of the rule of law” by allowing a film crew to record it all, Perry said in an order Friday.

“It is clear to the court that Haddix intends to continue bragging to the world about her previous contempt of this court, and that she will not stop until serious consequences are imposed,” Perry wrote.

The judge asked federal prosecutors to charge Haddix by Dec. 16, or else the judge will appoint another attorney to prosecute the case.

Haddix’s attorney, Justin Gelfand, said in an email that prosecutors had launched an investigation and that he is “continuing to evaluate” the court order.

“We have immense respect for the court, but the decision to prosecute has always been a power of the executive branch, not the judiciary — and the executive branch decided not to prosecute this as a criminal case several years ago,” Gelfand said. “However, we have been informed that the U.S. Attorney’s Office has recently reopened this investigation based on a request by the court.”

A spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office declined comment Sunday.

PETA celebrated the court’s request to prosecute Haddix.

“The wheels of justice are turning for entitled Tonia Haddix, who has shown time and time again that she believes the justice system will simply indulge her as she defies court orders in her warped quest to exploit chimpanzees,” PETA Foundation attorney Brittany Peet said in a written statement.

“This is a woman who either can’t or won’t abide by the law, and PETA thanks the court for making moves to hold her accountable with these much-deserved federal charges.”

The Haddix legal saga dates back to 2016, when PETA sued her and claimed Tonka — who appeared alongside actor Alan Cumming in the 1997 movie “Buddy” — and other chimps at the now-defunct Missouri Primate Foundation near Festus were improperly cared for.

Haddix, who has dubbed herself “the Dolly Parton of chimps,” said in “Chimp Crazy” that she sedated Tonka and hid him at a Holiday Inn instead of turning him over to PETA, according to court filings.

“I opted to go against the court order,” Haddix said in the third episode of the series, the filing says. “Tonka was literally on the run with me.”

Tonka eventually was taken to the Save the Chimps Sanctuary in Florida.

“Chimp Crazy” has garnered more than 2.3 million views on Max.