Ron DeSantis Suspends Elected Prosecutor Who Vowed Not to Enforce Abortion, Trans Laws

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday suspended an elected state attorney who vowed not to prosecute people under a new abortion law, Politico reports.

DeSantis suspended State Attorney Andrew Warren and replaced him with his own appointee even though Warren was elected by voters.

Warren had called the state’s new 15-week abortion ban “unconstitutional on its face,” citing privacy rights enshrined in the Florida Constitution.

Warren was reportedly escorted from his office on Thursday ahead of a planned news conference on a major criminal case.

DeSantis:

“Warren has thus clearly, unequivocally, and publicly declared that his office will not persecute violations of Florida’s criminal laws and prohibit providers from performing certain abortions to protect the life of the unborn child,” DeSantis’ executive order suspending Warren said.

“State Attorneys have a duty to prosecute crimes as defined in Florida law, not to pick and choose which laws to enforce based on his personal agenda,” DeSantis said at a news conference, adding that Warren was “funded” by billionaire Democratic financier George Soros.

Warren fires back:

Warren said the suspension “spits in the face” of voters who twice elected him.

“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,” he said in a statement. “The people have the right to elect their own leaders — not have them dictated by an aspiring presidential candidate.”

 

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