The furor escalated Friday over Gov. Ron DeSantis' decision to suspend Hillsborough State Attorney Andrew Warren. A court fight appears likely.
It came with no warning. Warren said an armed sheriff's deputy escorted him out of his office Thursday morning and didn't even read the executive order removing him from office.
"This political stunt should scare anyone who believes in our democracy," Warren said Friday. "It's a blatant abuse of power. It's a flagrant violation of the most fundamental American value — that people elect their leaders. That's how our democracy works. Even my 8-year-old knows that.
"I've been elected twice to serve as a state attorney. And I've served the state attorney and I've done it well. crime is down. We're protecting people's rights. We have fought so hard for public safety and furious injustice. If the governor thinks he can do a better job than he should run for state attorney, not president."
Warren is a Democrat who was elected twice by Tampa-area voters. He narrowly unseated the longtime county prosecutor Mark Ober in 2016, and won with 53% of the vote in 2020. Warren has signed onto public statements with about 80 other prosecutors across the country, supporting gender transition treatments for children and making it a crime for a woman's decision to have an abortion.
"He is living in an alternative factual universe with what he's saying," Warren said Friday of DeSantis on The Florida Roundup. "My statements were value statements voicing my opposition to laws that violate people's constitutional rights. I've been clear; cases will be evaluated based on the law and facts."
DeSantis, on Tucker Carlson's Fox News program, said he asked his staff if any Florida prosecutors were threatening to defy Florida's new 15-week abortion ban.
"And this is the guy that all the line prosecutors and all the law enforcement said he thinks can pick and choose which laws, and he actually signed letters saying he wouldn't enforce laws against transgender surgery for minors, laws protecting the right to life, and that he has all these policies in his agency that are called presumptive non-prosecution," DeSantis said.
State Attorneys have a duty to enforce the law, not ignore laws they don’t like.
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) August 5, 2022
Placing one’s personal conception of “social justice” above the rule of law is a dereliction of duty. pic.twitter.com/kp7CaZEI8M
Warren said he was blindsided, but many others knew it was coming. DeSantis had reserved a room in the county sheriff's office for a news conference, and other law enforcement officials stood behind him, including Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd. The night before, DeSantis' press secretary had tweeted: Prepare for the liberal media meltdown of the year.
MAJOR announcement tomorrow morning from @GovRonDeSantis.
— Christina Pushaw 🐊 🇺🇸 (@ChristinaPushaw) August 4, 2022
Prepare for the liberal media meltdown of the year
Everyone get some rest tonight 😉 🌚
Warren held an online press event Friday with editorial writers from around the state and said he planned to challenge the suspension.
As Warren emphasized, he has made statements but he hasn't done anything. The issue of gender-affirming is not on the law books, and the abortion law was ruled unconstitutional by a state judge in Tallahassee and the state is appealing that order.
"People were outraged," Warren said. "People are terrified that this is happening. People are shocked that they woke up in America and saw the governor strip someone who has been elected twice. Let's be clear. This is about overthrowing the results of a free and fair election."
It is very rare for a governor to suspend an elected constitutional officer who has not been formally charged with a crime. DeSantis suspended former Broward Sheriff Scott Israel three years ago over his handling of the Parkland shooting. A special master who held a hearing concluded that the suspension was not justified, but the Republican Senate removed Israel from office.
WUSF staff writers Steve Newborn and Daylina Miller contributed to this report.
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