Republican Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida suspended democratically elected Hillsborough County State Attorney Andrew Warren. He said that the 13th Judicial Circuit State Attorney was suspended for neglecting his duty. The newly issued executive order, on Thursday said that he was suspended effective immediately as he had refused to prosecute “abortion crimes.” Warren had not upheld several state laws that protected “the lives of unborn children.”
Andrew Warren assumed office in January 2017. He has been replaced by Susan Lopez, who is a judge in the County court in Hillsborough. He has not commented on his suspension. However, Democratic candidates, who will be standing for the gubernatorial elections in the Sunshine State, responded to his removal.
According to a report by WPTV Nikki Fried said that it was a “politically motivated attack and described Warren to be a universally respected State Attorney who had assumed office through a democratic election and had the ability to “exercise prosecutorial discretion.” Fried described Ron DeSantis as a “pathetic bully” and also said that he had taken the action as he wanted to be a “dictator, not a governor of Florida.”
Charlie Crist called the action of suspending Andrew Warren that of a “wannabe dictator who puts partisan politics first.” Crist added that the governor didn’t give “a damn about women or average Floridians” and also described it as a “flagrant abuse of power.”
The site also said that governor Ron DeSantis said in a news conference, on Thursday, “When you flagrantly violate your oath of office, when you make yourself above the law, you have violated your duty, you have neglected your duty, and you are displaying a lack of competence to be able to perform those duties.” The Florida governor spoke at the conference held at the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.
Earlier on Thursday, a spokeswoman from the governor’s office had teased on social media about a “major announcement” and some of Ron DeSantis’ supporters believed that he might announce a run against former president Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential elections. The conservative governor of Florida has supported many issues and initiatives that have made him more popular than Trump in straw polls conducted among Republicans.
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