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Distinguished person of the week: He's fighting DeSantis's abuse of power
Distinguished person of the week: He’s fighting DeSantis’s abuse of powerWashington Post, 10/16/2022
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has eagerly displayed his contempt for the First Amendment. The Republican punished Disney for objecting to his “don’t say gay” law. He has repeatedly locked the media out of events. And he has set up a system for suing teachers who discuss race in ways he does not like.
Perhaps one of his most absurd assaults on the freedom of speech is his removal of Hillsborough County prosecutor Andrew Warren for signing on to a letter opposing the “criminalizing” of abortion. Now, Warren is fighting back, and he is threatening to disrupt the Republican governor’s pattern of authoritarian power grabs.
DeSantis claims that he fired Warren because the letter he signed indicated he wouldn’t enforce the law. But as Warren explained in an oped for The Post in August, “In removing me from office, DeSantis offered no examples of specific actions taken by me or my office that broke or ignored the law.” Instead, Warren explained:
Perhaps one of his most absurd assaults on the freedom of speech is his removal of Hillsborough County prosecutor Andrew Warren for signing on to a letter opposing the “criminalizing” of abortion. Now, Warren is fighting back, and he is threatening to disrupt the Republican governor’s pattern of authoritarian power grabs.
DeSantis claims that he fired Warren because the letter he signed indicated he wouldn’t enforce the law. But as Warren explained in an oped for The Post in August, “In removing me from office, DeSantis offered no examples of specific actions taken by me or my office that broke or ignored the law.” Instead, Warren explained:
The governor cites statements I signed with other prosecutors from around the country regarding gender-affirming care and restrictions on abortion rights, two of his political wedge issues. These are value statements, where I expressed my opposition to laws that I believe violate constitutional rights. Florida’s current 15-week abortion ban was found to violate the Florida Constitution by the first court to review it. And Florida has no criminal law at all regarding medical treatments of gender-affirming care. His allegations of “neglect of duty” and “incompetence” are based not on what I have done but on what he predicts I will do.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/10/16/distinguished-person-andrew-warren
No paywall (gifted): https://wapo.st/3g6x4qR