TAMPA — Andrew Warren, suspended recently as Hillsborough County State Attorney, said Wednesday he has filed a suit in federal court to fight what he called "the blatant abuse of power," by Gov. Ron DeSantis.
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He made the announcement from Tallahassee in a streamed video on Facebook, which you can watch below.
"There is so much more at stake here than my job," he said, stating that, "No governor can toss out the results of an election because he doesn't like the outcome."
DeSantis said on Aug. 4 while announcing the suspension that Warren put himself above the law by signing letters saying he would not enforce any prohibitions on sex change operations for minors and would not prosecute abortion cases. He made the latter statement after Roe v. Wade was struck down by the Supreme Court.
Warren later told Spectrum News he was being punished for not enforcing laws that haven't become official.
“I signed on to two value statements expressing opposition to laws that would’ve violated people’s constitutional rights,” he told Spectrum News. The letters stated he would not enforce any prohibitions on sex change operations for minors and would not prosecute abortion cases.
Warren said Wednesday the suit seeks to rescind the suspension and to prohibit DeSantis from trying something similar in the future.
"The governor's authority is not unlimited," Warren said in announcing the suit.
"He can disagree with my political views. He can disagree with my criminal justice philosophy," he said. "He can do all those things because he's protected by the First Amendment. But the First Amendment doesn't just protect him. It protects everyone, even those of us he disagrees with."