Governor Ron DeSantis has announced the suspension of Florida State Attorney Andrew Warren. Warren was the Florida State Attorney of the 13th Judicial Circuit and has been known for picking and choosing crimes to prosecute.
Warren has made it clear that he will not up hold state law by prosecuting anyone for performing surgery changing the sex of minors, late term abortions, or partial birth abortions.
DeSantis made clear that Warren has chosen this outcome by engaging in “neglect of duty.”
A press conference was held by the governor, at the Hillsboro County Sheriff’s Office, to announce the suspension on August 4.
“We are suspending Soros-backed 13th circuit state attorney Andrew Warren for neglecting his duties as he pledges not to uphold the laws of the state,” DeSantis’ office said in a statement.
https://twitter.com/TPostMillennial/status/1555197094121684992?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
DeSantis explained in his statement that prosecutors across the nation have actively participated in the dereliction of their duty by selectively enforcing laws. Their actions have horrific consequences as they are freeing violent offenders all over the nation that go on to repeat their crimes.
the Florida Governor pointed out that many of these prosecutors who are refusing to enforce the law have been receiving large donations to their campaigns from people and organizations with “an agenda.” Most don’t even live in those states.
One such donor is left-wing billionaire, George Soros. Soros has infamously funded campaigns for soft-on-crime prosecutors, openly vowing that he will not stop doing so. He is obviously proud of the rising crime statistics across the nation.
“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,” said DeSantis in a statement. “It is my duty to hold Florida’s elected officials to the highest standards for the people of Florida.”
During yesterdays press conference, DeSantis made clear that “the constitution of Florida has vested the veto power in the governor, not in state attorneys. We are not going to allow this pathogen of ignoring the law get a foothold in the state of Florida.”
DeSantis stated in his order suspending Warren that the State Attorney has a “fundamentally flawed and lawless understanding of his duties.”
Warren signed a joint statement with other prosecutors, in June 2021, vowing not to enforce laws that prohibited gender-change treatments for children or bathroom usage based on “gender identity.”
“We pledge to use our discretion and not promote the criminalization of gender-affirming healthcare for transgender people,” the statement asserted. “We are committed to ending this deeply disturbing and destructive criminalization of gender-affirming healthcare for transgender people.”
DeSantis also brought up that Warren has also refused to enforce the state’s abortion laws. Warren publicly proclaimed in another joint-statement with prosecutors from other states that he would not prosecute individuals who provide abortions in violation of Florida’s criminal laws.
“Warren’s erroneous understanding of his duties recently culminated in his public declaration that he would not enforce criminal laws enacted by the Florida Legislature that prohibit providers from performing certain abortions to protect the lives of unborn children,” the order stated.
Warrens signed statement read that, “enforcing abortion bans runs counter to the obligations and interests we are sworn to uphold,” and “as such, we decline to use our offices’ resources to criminalize reproductive health decisions and commit to exercise our well-settled discretion and refrain from prosecuting those who… provide or support abortions.”
“Our legislatures may decide to criminalize personal healthcare decisions, but we remain obligated to prosecute only those cases that serve the interests of justice and the people,” the statement continued.
In no uncertain terms, DeSantis’ order makes clear that Warren’s refusal to uphold Florida laws is intended as a “functional veto” on the policies of the Florida legislature.
It adds, “as a result of his open and notorious repudiation and nullification of Florida law, as well as his blatant defiance of the Florida Legislature, Warren can no longer be trusted to fulfill his oath of office and his duty to see that Florida law is faithfully executed.”
During the press conference with the Governor, members of Florida’s law enforcement community spoke out against the State Attorney.
“Andrew Warren is a fraud,” former Tampa police Chief Brian Dugan said. “This is a terrible day, that the governor had to come and clean up our mess.”
For the period of suspension Gov. DeSantis has appointed Susan Lopez as acting State Attorney.
“I have the utmost respect for our state laws and I understand the important role that the State Attorney plays in ensuring the safety of our community and the enforcement of our laws,” said Lopez in a statement. “I want to thank the Governor for placing his trust in me, and I promise that I will faithfully execute the duties of this office.”
You can watch yesterdays conference here:
https://twitter.com/GovRonDeSantis/status/1555194890149335041?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
