In August 2022, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis suspended Andrew Warren, State Attorney of the 13th Judicial Circuit. He was suspended because he had refused to enforce Florida law.
DeSantis’ Executive Order of Suspension explained that the statements (and pledges) made by the George Soros-backed Warren showed that “Warren believes he has authority to defy Florida Legislature and nullify criminal laws in his jurisdiction with which he does not agree.”
Warren, as one would expect, took DeSantis to court shortly after. Warren has been left with mixed results by the rulings that have so far been handed down.
Warren teased that he would run for reelection, but announced in a video on Twitter Monday that he was not going to do it. He felt DeSantis might suspend him again.
Warren stated, “I’ve been planning to run again for state attorney since the day that I was suspended. But the governor has made it clear that he doesn’t care about our democracy or the will of voters, and he will break federal and state law to prevent me from being state attorney.” “I am too concerned about the State Attorney’s Office, and our community to allow that cloud of uncertainty to hang over us.”
Warren claimed that if I won and he suspended me for any bogus reasons he chose, it was because the courts had allowed his illegal political stunt to stand. “And we’d be back to where we are now, with a political appointee who is unqualified and illegal.”
Watch:
DeSantis broke our democracy, and it’s too fragile & too important to let him do it again. So I’ll take one for the team and not run for re-election as I keep fighting the illegal suspension (as a court ruled) to serve out my term on behalf of the community that elected me. pic.twitter.com/7QcNkwJhM6
— Andrew Warren (@AndrewWarrenFL) January 8, 2024
In January 2023, a District Court judge found that the suspension violated both the Florida Constitution and the U.S. Constitution. However, the District Court did not have the authority to restore him to office.
Warren appealed this one to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.
In June, the Florida Supreme Court ruled that he had “waited too much” before bringing his reinstatement case to court.
Gov. DeSantis maintained that “under the Florida Constitution, he has the authority to suspend state employees for reasons of misfeasance or malfeasance; neglect of duty; drunkenness; incompetence; permanent inability to carry out official duties and commission of a crime.”
The Florida Constitution, specifically Article IV Section 7 says this:
Lmao cry harder. pic.twitter.com/dkRwPIFuf6
— Jo (@jochimliberty) August 4, 2022
DeSantis did not suspend Warren alone. DeSantis had suspended Monique W. Worrell in August 2023 from the 9th Judicial Circuit of Florida for similar reasons. She is also appealing her suspension, and on Monday she issued her defiance statement via Twitter.
You’ll be kept informed of any developments in the respective cases. Stay tuned.
