Andrew Warren, the twice-elected state attorney of Hillsborough County, Florida who was suspended by Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, has challenged DeSantis’s disciplinary action, saying DeSantis overstepped his authority according to Florida’s constitution, CNN reports.
After Florida enacted draconian laws punishing women who seek abortions, doctors who perform abortions, and people who teach that LGBTQ people exist, Warren said he would not prosecute people who fell on the wrong side of Republicans’ fascistic dictates.
“The Florida Constitution sets very limited parameters under which a governor can suspend an elected official and what’s happening here is, he’s trying to overturn a free and fair election, Warren said in an interview on CNN Wednesday. “He’s trying to throw out the votes of hundreds of thousands of Floridians. And he’s trying to substitute his judgment for that of the voters who elected me.”
Warren filed a lawsuit in the US District Court for the Northern District of Florida saying that DeSantis illegally negated the results of the county election by suspending Warren because he didn’t like the politics of the person who won. Warren has argued that the Florida law barring abortion after 15 weeks violates the Florida constitution’s explicit statements of the rights to privacy and religious freedom. Warren also feels that the state laws barring teachers from discussing issues regarding race, sexuality and gender identity are also violations of people’s rights laid out by the US and Florida constitutions.
“I can’t enforce an unconstitutional law and no case has come before me yet. This isn’t about anything that I’ve done. This is about what I’ve said,” Warren said.
Florida’s constitution allows the governor to dismiss “any county officer” for malfeasance, misfeasance, neglect of duty, drunkenness, incompetence, permanent inability to perform official duties, or commission of a felony. Warren asserts he didn’t do any of those things because DeSantis acted after Warren voiced opposition to Florida’s oppressive laws and without any evidence that Warren did not fulfill his duty as the state attorney.