Ron DeSantis sued by prosecutor ‘forced out of office’ over abortion and trans rights
Suspended Florida state attorney Andrew Warren has launched a legal bid to get his job back. (Octavio Jones/Getty Images)
A twice-elected Florida prosecutor is suing governor Ron DeSantis after he was removed from his role for refusing to enforce an abortion ban.
Republican DeSantis suspended Democrat Hillsborough County state attorney Andrew Warren on 4 August for “neglecting” his duties.
Warren was among more than 100 prosecutors across the US who signed a pledge refusing to place criminal charges on people seeking – or doctors providing – abortion in the wake of Roe v Wade‘s appeal.
DeSantis has banned abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy with no exceptions for rape or incest.
Warren also vowed in a separate pledge “not to prosecute families and guardians who seek out or professionals who provide gender-affirming healthcare for trans young people”.
Though Florida has yet to push a total ban on gender-affirming healthcare, it has banned trans Floridians from using Medicaid, the public health insurance programme for low-income people, to pay for gender-affirming healthcare.
On Wednesday (17 August), Warren filed a federal lawsuit against DeSantis to the Northern District of Florida court. He argued his suspension was unlawful and amounted to a “retaliation” against a political rival.
He has asked the court to reinstate him as a state attorney.
“He’s violated the Florida Constitution by removing me from office without any legal justification, throwing out the results of a fair and free election,” Warren said in a Twitter video, accusing DeSantis of a “blatant abuse of power”.
Today we took action against Ron DeSantis' abuse of power and unlawful suspension. Please join us in this fight at https://t.co/mebZt8It8i #DefendDemocracyNow pic.twitter.com/ekluzexc2H
— Andrew Warren (@AndrewWarrenFL) August 17, 2022
He added: “We filed a lawsuit to make sure that even though Ron DeSantis is governor, the First Amendment still has meaning, Florida’s constitution still has meaning, and elections and democracy still have meaning.”
The First Amendment allows elected officials to freely express their views on issues and policies while also barring officeholders from punishing another for doing so.
Though Warren had spoken in favour of abortion access rights and gender-affirming healthcare, his office had not taken any action on the issues, the complaint said.
‘Forced out by an armed deputy’
Warren has been in office since 2016 and was re-elected after he won against Republican Mike Perotti with 53.4 per cent of the vote in 2020. By ousting him, Warren said DeSantis had overturned the election.
In a Wednesday press conference, Warren said he was “forced out of office by an armed deputy, removed from my position and replaced by a Ron DeSantis accomplice” when DeSantis suspended him.
DeSantis’ office shrugged off the lawsuit as “baseless” in a statement to The Washington Post.
“It’s not surprising Warren, who was suspended for refusing to follow the law, would file a legally baseless lawsuit challenging his suspension. We look forward to responding in court,” a spokesperson said.
DeSantis claimed that the pledges “prove that Warren thinks he has authority to defy the Florida legislature” and has a “flawed and lawless understanding of his duties as a state attorney”.
