Ron DeSantis

Whether he's punishing Disney or removing Hillsborough County's state attorney, Gov. DeSantis is flexing his immense power as state's chief executive.

"So there’s the potential of him overstepping what used to be the line and us not noticing it because he keeps pushing the line further and further out." He has endorsed in a host of races, from school board to state Senate contests. Election problems in Palm Beach County in 2018 prompted DeSantis to remove the supervisor of elections. “He’s pushing the limits hard but he hasn’t crossed the line yet.” "The danger is this: Every time you push the line, the line moves a little bit to the extreme and every time you do it you make it more extreme," he said. Carlson said it was “amazing” and “kind of a big move” for DeSantis to remove Warren. He accused liberal prosecutors of “a subversion of democracy” by refusing to adequately enforce certain laws.

The Florida Gov. called State Attorney Andrew Warren's refusal to go after abortion providers a neglect of duty.

“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. “Just because the governor violates your rights, it doesn’t mean they don’t exist.” Warren has been the State Attorney in Hillsborough County since 2016 and was elected twice.

Oster has served as a Judge on the Hillsborough County Court since her appointment in 2018. Previously, she served as a Senior County Attorney in the ...

Bell has served as an Assistant State Attorney in the Fifth Judicial Circuit for the past year. Makholm has served as an Assistant Legal Counsel in the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office for the past eleven years. Previously, she served as a Senior County Attorney in the Hillsborough County Attorney’s Office for eighteen years.

Gov. Ron DeSantis said State Attorney Andrew Warren of Hillsborough County has indicated he would not enforce any current or potential state laws regarding ...

“It is my duty to hold Florida’s elected officials to the highest standards for the people of Florida." "We don't elect people in one part of the state to have veto power over what the entire state decides on these important issues." He is a direct threat to all of our freedoms.” "Ron DeSantis doesn’t give a damn about our freedoms. The order also cites Warren proclaiming "in writing that he will not prosecute individuals who provide abortions in violation of Florida's criminal laws to protect the life of the unborn child." He pointed to Warren's statement that he would not enforce any current or potential state laws regarding abortion or transgender health care, as one of the reasons for the suspension.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday appointed Renatha Francis to a vacant seat on Florida Supreme Court, a move that comes two years after her ...

State Rep. Geraldine Thompson (D-Orlando) filed a lawsuit at the time asking the high court to invalidate the 2020 appointment because she did not meet the requirements. “We had someone file a lawsuit to try and keep her off the court because they said she can’t be appointed until she reaches the 10 year mark,” DeSantis said during the Friday press conference. Francis is part of DeSantis’ sweeping remake of the Florida Supreme Court into a more conservative institution. She is also a member of the Federalist Society, a conservative legal organization DeSantis often turns to when making judicial appointments. “My beginnings are humble.” “It’s disturbing.”

DeSantis made a major announcement at the Richard & Pat Johnson Palm Beach County History Museum. Advertisement. DeSantis officially appointed Judge Renatha ...

Governor DeSantis appoints current Hillsborough County Judge Susan Lopez to serve as Acting State Attorney of the 13^th Judicial Circuit. TAMPA, Fla.

Susan Lopez was appointed by Governor DeSantis to serve as a judge on the Hillsborough County Court in 2021. The Governor has further authority to fill that office by appointment for the duration of the suspension. TAMPA, Fla.— Today, Governor Ron DeSantis suspended State Attorney Andrew Warren of the 13th Judicial Circuit due to neglect of duty.

The stance of Andrew H. Warren, the elected state attorney of Hillsborough County, was reflected by several other prosecutors across the country.

He was one of many prosecutors who were backed in 2016 by groups supported by the billionaire liberal investor George Soros. Mr. DeSantis did not name Mr. Soros on Thursday but seemed to allude to him, saying that Mr. Warren had run a campaign funded by out-of-state donors. Mr. Israel unsuccessfully appealed his suspension to the courts and the State Senate and later lost a re-election bid. Mr. DeSantis is up for re-election in November and has faced growing criticism from Democrats that his approach to governing has become increasingly authoritarian. “Governors don’t hand pick elected prosecutors, the voters do,” she said in a statement. Mr. DeSantis has recently blasted surgeries for transgender adolescents, saying doctors who perform such procedures should be sued. Shortly after taking office in 2019, he suspended Sheriff Scott Israel of Broward County, a Democrat, faulting him for his handling of the mass shooting at a Parkland high school in 2018, even though Mr. Israel had not been criminally charged. But he did not suspend Ms. Ayala, who did not seek re-election after her term and is now running for Florida attorney general. Doing so will give you access to the work of over 1,700 journalists whose mission is to cover the world and make sure you have accurate and impartial information on the most important topics of the day. “Andrew Warren is a fraud,” said Brian Dugan, a former chief of the Tampa Police Department. We’d like to thank you for reading The Times and encourage you to support journalism like this by becoming a subscriber. Mr. DeSantis’s Republican predecessor, Rick Scott, tended to suspend elected officials only after they had been charged with a crime. “Because their communities are no longer safe, thanks to prosecutors who think they know better.”

The governor accused 13th Judicial Circuit State Attorney Andrew Warren of working to "nullify laws that were enacted by the people's representatives."

But the Republican-controlled Senate went along and sided with the governor and removed Israel. DeSantis, while campaigning in 2018, had vowed to remove Israel from office, if elected. As such, we pledge to use our settled discretion and limited resources on enforcement of laws that will not erode the safety and well-being of our community." "To suspend him because he won't criminalize a women's right to choose is unconscionable," Cruz tweeted. But we stand together in our firm belief that prosecutors have a responsibility to refrain from using limited criminal legal system resources to criminalize personal medical decisions,” according to the June 24 letter. Warren's fate will ultimately be decided by senators, who can remove him or order his reinstatement, action not likely to occur until after the November elections. The letter states: "Bills that criminalize safe and crucial medical treatments or the mere public existence of trans people do not promote public safety, community trust, or fiscal responsibility. Later Thursday, at a news conference to announce an update in a cold case, Warren said he was shocked by the news. "People need to understand: This isn't the governor trying to suspend one elected official. my office consulted with a lot of people." “The governor is trying to overthrow the results of a fair and free election — two of them actually," he said. I can tell you it’s been a very, very troubling record,” DeSantis said of Warren. Now Tampa is squarely at the center of that debate.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis suspended State Attorney Andrew Warren accusing him of refusing to properly enforce certain laws.

As such, we pledge to use our settled discretion and limited resources on enforcement of laws that will not erode the safety and well-being of our community." "To suspend him because he won't criminalize a women's right to choose is unconscionable," Cruz tweeted. The governor criticized Warren for signing a letter in 2021 that states: "Bills that criminalize safe and crucial medical treatments or the mere public existence of trans people do not promote public safety, community trust, or fiscal responsibility. But we stand together in our firm belief that prosecutors have a responsibility to refrain from using limited criminal legal system resources to criminalize personal medical decisions,” according to the June 24 letter. Warren is a Democrat who has been out front on criminal justice reform issues and Republicans have pushed back against these reforms, arguing they are leading to an increase in crime. Now Tampa is squarely at the center of that debate.

ORLANDO FLORIDA FEBRUARY 24 Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference. ORLANDO, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 24: Florida Gov. Ron ...

Incredibly, several slides reportedly stated that this is a major “misconception.” During a breakout session, presenters reportedly mentioned, more than once, “the influence Jesus Christ and the Bible had on the country’s foundation.” Richard Judd, a Nova High School social studies teacher, told the Times, “There was this Christian nationalism philosophy that was just baked into everything that was there.” He added that “ending school prayer was compared to upholding segregation.” Barbara Segal, a 12th-grade government teacher at Fort Lauderdale High School, was also disturbed by the emphasis on Christianity, telling the Times: “It was very skewed. Elsewhere during the workshops—which, according to Times, were “developed” with the input of Hillsdale College, a private Christian college in Michigan, and other groups including the Bill of Rights Institute, which was founded by arch-conservative Charles Koch—teachers were reportedly informed that that whole “separation of church and state” business? The news of these conferences, which are voluntary, comes months after DeSantis signed a bill banning public schools and private businesses from making white people feel bad during lessons or training about discrimination. Tatiana Ahlbum, a 12th-grade government and economics teacher at Fort Lauderdale High, said it was stressed that the majority of enslaved people in America had been born into slavery, that the colonies bought fewer enslaved people from the transatlantic slave trade than has been previously portrayed, and that less than 4% of enslaved people worldwide lived in America, without noting that that percentage still constituted millions of people. Like many a conservative in 2022, DeSantis also hates the idea of kids learning that American history involves a lot of unsavory business, usually on the part of white people. Ahlbum told the Times that it felt like the instructors were trying to claim America had been “less bad” when it came to enslaving people, which certainly appears to be the case!

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday suspended Tampa's elected prosecutor, Andrew Warren, for pledging not to use his office to go after people who seek ...

In one of his first actions as governor, DeSantis suspended Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel, who oversaw the police response to the deadly mass shooting at a Parkland high school. In turn, Chronister praised Warren in the months leading up to the Democrat's campaign for a second term. But it was Warren's foray into the country's political divide over transgender and abortion care that sparked Thursday's action from DeSantis. Warren last year joined dozens of local and state prosecutor who signed onto a letter authored by the progressive organization Fair and Just Prosecution denouncing laws that criminalize doctors that provide gender affirming care for transgender people. He was reelected in 2020, winning a higher percentage of the vote in Hillsborough County than President Joe Biden. Warren grew increasingly critical of DeSantis during the pandemic. Early in the coronavirus outbreak, he publicly bashed the governor's decision to allow megachurches to operate in Florida just days after the arrest of a Tampa pastor who defiantly held in-person service. The Florida Senate has the power to reinstate a suspended official or remove that person from office. "The governor should not have had to come to Hillsborough County and clean up our mess," former Tampa police chief Brian Dugan said during the press conference. DeSantis appointed Lopez to serve as state attorney during Warren's suspension. "In fact, it's not even talking about things that I've done in the office. The move by DeSantis, a Republican, to remove a Democrat twice elected by Hillsborough voters drew an immediate and sharp rebuke from Democratic state lawmakers and officials. That review led them to Warren, who has become a vocal advocate for criminal justice reform and overturning wrongful convictions.

The governor said his office is working to remove the twice-elected state attorney for Hillsborough County permanently.

Saying you're not going to enforce the law is a dereliction of duty," said DeSantis. What they're saying: "Not enforcing the law, that's a neglect of duty. Former Gov. Rick Scott removed former Orange and Osceola County State Attorney Aramis Ayala as head prosecutor in more than two dozen murder casesafter she swore not to seek the death penalty. - The governor's office also accuses Warren of acting "as law unto himself by instituting a policy ... of presumptive non-enforcement for certain criminal violations," citing his most recentpledge to not press chargesagainst those receiving an abortion or their doctors. Between the lines: DeSantis accuses Warren of "incompetence and willful defiance as early as June 2021" in the executive order. - The governor appointed Hillsborough County Court judge Susan Lopez to serve as state attorney in the interim.