ABOVE: Gov. DeSantis in Tampa Aug. 4. Screenshot via Facebook.
TAMPA | Gov. Ron DeSantis suspended Hillsborough County State Attorney Andrew Warren from office Aug. 4, calling the elected official’s stance on gender-affirming care, abortion rights and more a “neglect of duty.”
Warren was first elected to represent Florida’s 13th Judicial Circuit in Hillsborough County in 2016. He was re-elected in 2020.
The governor announced his decision during a news conference, flanked by law enforcement from throughout Tampa Bay and Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody. DeSantis’ office cited his authority “to suspend a state officer under Article IV, Section 7 of the Constitution of the State of Florida.”
“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 also said in a press release. “It is my duty to hold Florida’s elected officials to the highest standards for the people of Florida.”
In DeSantis’ executive order of suspension, Warren’s “neglect of duty” is described as “the neglect or failure on the part of a public officer to do and perform some duty or duties laid on him as such by virtue of his office or which is required of him by law.”
The suspension cites Warren’s signing of a joint statement circulated between prosecutors around the country, who vowed “to use our discretion and not promote the criminalization of gender-affirming healthcare or transgender people.”
“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,” it reads. “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.”
DeSantis has signed a number of explicitly anti-LGBTQ bills into law during his first term. They include “The Fairness in Women’s Sports Act,” which prohibits transgender youth from playing sports that align with their gender identity and “Parental Rights in Education,” more widely known as Florida’s “Don’t’ Say Gay or Trans” law.
His administration has also targeted transgender health care, though no law criminalizing it currently exists. The governor’s order noted, however, that Warren’s statements “prove [he] thinks he has authority to defy the Florida Legislature and nullify in his jurisdiction criminal laws with which he disagrees.”
DeSantis also decried Warren’s stance on abortion. Florida’s restriction took effect July 1, which prohibits abortion after 15 weeks. The attorney also joined prosecutors in decrying the reversal of Roe v. Wade in another joint statement.
“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,” the letter reads. As such, we decline to use our offices’ resources to criminalize reproductive health decisions and commit to exercise our wellsettled discretion and refrain from prosecuting those who seek, provide, or support abortions.”
View DeSantis’ press conference below:
Following his suspension, Warren called DeSantis’ actions a political stunt.
“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,” he shared. “It spits in the face of the voters of Hillsborough County who have twice elected me to serve them, not Ron DeSantis.
“In our community, crime is low, our Constitutional rights—including the right to privacy—are being upheld, and the people have the right to elect their own leaders—not have them dictated by an aspiring presidential candidate who has shown time and again he feels accountable to no one,” he continued. “Just because the governor violates you rights, it doesn’t mean they don’t exist.”
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. It spits in the face of the voters of Hillsborough County who have twice elected me to serve *them*, not Ron DeSantis… pic.twitter.com/RzPXksSSWa
— Andrew Warren (@AndrewWarrenFL) August 4, 2022
Just because the governor violates your rights, it doesn’t mean they don’t exist.
— Andrew Warren (@AndrewWarrenFL) August 4, 2022
Local officials throughout Florida also denounced DeSantis, among them openly LGBTQ Tampa Mayor Jane Castor. “Removing a duly elected official should be based on egregious actions, not on political statements,” she shared.
“In a free state, voters should choose their elected officials,” Castor continued. “Tampa remains one of the safest cities of its size in the nation thanks to the hard work and cooperation between our police officers and law enforcement partners.”
Removing a duly elected official should be based on egregious actions—not political statements. In a free state, voters should choose their elected officials. Tampa remains one of safest cities of its size thanks to the cooperation between our officers & law enforcement partners.
— Jane Castor (@JaneCastor) August 4, 2022
The Florida LGBTQ+ Democratic Caucus also responded.
“Ron DeSantis is fixated on the LGBTQ+ community. His main goal is not protecting vulnerable Floridians from danger, but rather trying to erase us from public life,” President Stephen Gaskill said in a statement.
“His suspension of Andrew Warren for his support of the trans community is another despicable act more in line with authoritarian ideals than with the concepts of American democracy,” he continued. “Our message to Ron DeSantis is simple: You cannot eliminate our community and you cannot intimidate our supporters and allies. The bigger enemy you make us, the smaller you get.”
DeSantis has appointed Hillsborough County Judge Susan Lopez as Warren’s interim replacement, who he named to the bench last year.
“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,” she said 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.”
DeSantis is currently running for re-election. He will likely face either U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist or Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried in November, frontrunners who are each vying for the Democratic nomination in the state’s Aug. 23 primary.
