Florida State Attorney Andrew Warren (D) sued Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday, accusing the Republican governor of unconstitutionally suspending him for his views supporting gender-affirming surgery and abortion.
Earlier this month, DeSantis suspended Warren for “incompetence” and “neglect of duty,” citing statements the Hillsborough County prosecutor signed indicating he would refuse to enforce “prohibitions on sex change operations” and “any laws related to protecting the right to life.”
In his lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida, Warren alleged his statements were protected speech under the First Amendment and DeSantis used his authority to “suppress criticism and promote cronyism.”
“There’s so much more at stake here than my job,” Warren said at a press conference on Wednesday.
“Ron DeSantis is hoping to get away with overturning a fair election, throwing out the votes of hundreds of thousands of Floridians,” Warren continued. “By challenging this illegal abuse of power, we can make sure that no governor can toss out the results of an election because he doesn’t like the outcome.”
The lawsuit argues that while DeSantis is permitted to suspend state attorneys for neglect of duty under Florida’s state constitution, his rationale as to why Warren met that threshold was “facially insufficient” based on court precedent.
