Gov. Ron DeSantis announced the suspension of a state attorney on Thursday morning in news his team teased the night before.
DeSantis announced that Florida state attorney Andrew Warren would be suspended, effective immediately, for failing to enforce the state’s laws dealing with crime and regulating abortion.
DESANTIS CLAIMS POLITICIANS OVERREACTING TO MONKEYPOX: ‘WE’RE NOT DOING FEAR’
“Our government is a government of laws, not a government of men,” DeSantis said. “We’ve seen across the country over the last few years individual prosecutors take it upon themselves to determine which laws they like and will enforce, and which laws they don’t like and don’t enforce.”
https://twitter.com/GovRonDeSantis/status/1555194890149335041
DeSantis pointed to places such as Los Angeles and San Francisco, which have held recall elections over liberal prosecutors who didn’t enforce laws. Liberal billionaire George Soros helped fund prosecutors in both jurisdictions.
Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascon, who received $4.7 million from a Soros-funded political action committee, saw a 46% increase in homicides in his city during his first year in office, the Washington Examiner reported. Gascon faces a recall over his policies of downgrading felonies and choosing not to enforce most gun and drug crimes.
San Francisco voted overwhelmingly in June to recall San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin, who received financial support from a Soros-funded PAC, in a stark rejection of his policies of doing away with cash bail and declining prosecution of “quality of life” crimes such as public urination and camping on the streets.
Warren was suspended under Article IV, Section 7 of the Florida Constitution, according to a press release from DeSantis’s office. He said the suspension came following a statewide review, which found that most cases of laws not being enforced traced back to Warren’s office.
“He has put himself publicly above the law,” DeSantis said.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
The announcement was teased Wednesday night and generated speculation it could be about DeSantis’s presidential aspirations.
“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 in a prepared statement. “It is my duty to hold Florida’s elected officials to the highest standards for the people of Florida. I have the utmost trust that Judge Susan Lopez will lead the office through this transition and faithfully uphold the rule of law.”
DeSantis appointed Hillsborough County Judge Susan Lopez to take over for Warren.
Several sheriffs, law enforcement officials, and other Florida politicians spoke during a press conference, which can be watched below.
