DeSantis suspends Florida prosecutor for indicating he would not enforce restrictions on abortion, gender therapy
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis suspended the top county prosecutor from Tampa on Thursday after the Democrat publicly said he wouldn’t enforce a new state abortion restriction or a potential law banning surgeries for transgender children.
MIAMI — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis suspended the top county prosecutor from Tampa on Thursday after the Democrat publicly said he wouldn’t enforce a new state abortion restriction or a potential law banning surgeries for transgender children.
Flanked by state and area law enforcement officials who are fellow Republicans, DeSantis said at his news conference that Hillsborough County State Attorney Andrew Warren was neglecting his official duties and was essentially usurping the veto power of a governor by signaling his refusal to prosecute those who break laws with which he disagrees.
“When you flagrantly violate your oath of office, when you make yourself above the law, you have violated your duty,” DeSantis said. “You have neglected your duty, and you are displaying a lack of competence to be able to perform those duties.”
Warren, who became a face of progressive criminal justice reform after he first won office in 2016 and had considered running for Florida attorney general in 2022, accused DeSantis of political posturing, suggesting the governor was motivated by his re-election campaign and his potential 2024 White House bid.
“Today’s political stunt is an illegal overreach that continues a dangerous pattern by Ron DeSantis of using his office to further his own political ambition,” Warren said in a written statement, accusing DeSantis of overriding the will of the voters who elected him prosecutor. “The people have the right to elect their own leaders—not have them dictated by an aspiring presidential candidate who has shown time and again he feels accountable to no one.”
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