Ron DeSantis suspended Hillsborough County State’s Attorney Andrew Warren for signing a national commitment not to prosecute women and doctors for violating state abortion laws or families seeking transgender treatment.
“If the governor is allowed to do this, what is left of democracy? If the governor is allowed to retaliate against me for speaking out, what’s left of the First Amendment?” Warren asked at a news conference.
Warren’s lawsuit alleges that the governor did not identify any conduct actual criminal activity that warrants a suspension.
DeSantis who has been criticized by Democrats for signing abortion restrictions and bills seen as anti-LGBTQ, held a campaign-like event to announce Warren’s suspension.
Ron DeSantis is seeking re-election in November and there has been much speculation of being a possible presidential candidate for 2024, he said that Warren’s “rejection of duty” and other alleged violations They forced him to dismiss him.
Supposedly revealed that Warren did not prosecute some minor categories of crimeswhich include “trespassing in a place of business, disorderly conduct, disorderly intoxication, and prostitution.”
Prosecutor Warren’s suspension was supported by several law enforcement officersincluding Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister, who said Warren had been acting as a kind of “supreme authority” in deciding what crimes will be legal or illegal in the county.
Warren, who was elected in 2016 in Tampa and re-elected in 2020, said during the conference that the governor overrides the will of the people who put him in office.
“The governor has attacked our democracy and everyone should be concerned. If the governor’s attempt to unilaterally nullify an election is allowed to stand, threatens to undermine the integrity and outcome of the elections throughout our state for years to come,” Warren told reporters.
Likewise, the prosecutor pointed out that the new ban on abortions after 15 weeks of gestation in Florida has been declared unconstitutional and that the state does not even have a law against abortions. hormonal treatments for transgender minors.
Andrew Warren’s lawsuit alleges that the suspension was in retaliation after objected to a number of issues, including DeSantis’s efforts to deny restoration of felons’ voting rights, among others.
The First Amendment protects the right of elected officials to speak on matters of public controversy.
Source: La Opinion
