Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Aug. 4, suspended 13th Circuit state attorney Andrew Warren for neglect of duty in response to Warren stating he would in fact not enforce Florida laws that restrict child sex change surgeries and abortions. The Governor is granted this authority under Article IV, Section 7 of the Constitution of the State of Florida, and is able to suspend any state officer, including elected officials.
“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 says. “It is my duty to hold Florida’s elected officials to the highest standards for the people of Florida. I have the utmost trust that Judge Susan Lopez will lead the office through this transition and faithfully uphold the rule of law.”
For the duration of the suspension, Gov. DeSantis has appointed Hillsborough County Court Judge Susan Lopez to fill-in as acting state attorney.
“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 enforcement of our laws,” said Lopez upon her selection. “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.”
The decision to remove Warren ultimately rests with a vote before the Florida Senate.
This is just the most recent example of a Soros-backed official shirking their duties within local and state governments. More recently, the far-left city of San Francisco voted overwhelmingly to recall then District Attorney Chesa Boudin. He was known for his desire to reform the criminal justice system by enacting failed policies such as ending the use of cash bail, stopping the prosecution of minors as adults and tackling mass incarceration. These policies and lack of enforcement for current laws has left the citizens of San Francisco feeling worried about their safety, especially those within the Asian community who have experienced an unprecedented number of hate-crimes during Boudin’s tenure.
Joining Boudin in the failed district attorney column is embattled Los Angeles County district attorney George Gascon, who is a former San Francisco DA. His failed attempts at reforming the justice system have led to soaring crime rates in L.A. County, mirroring those of Boudin’s San Francisco. Since his first year as district attorney for L.A. County, Gascon has presided over a dramatic increase of homicides and shootings, in spite of the restrictive gun-laws in place. While Gascon has filed a similar number of charges against perpetrators of felonies, there is a large gap between the number of charges Gascon has filed for misdemeanor cases and his predecessors.
The biggest difference between these three failed progressive prosecutors is that Warren’s case is the only one where the governor took action using constitutional rights afforded him. In the case of both Boudin and Gascon, the citizens were the ones who had to take up the task of outing these prosecutors for failing to do their job and uphold the rule of law. In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom had to fight off his own recall attempt, which was voted down overwhelmingly in the left-leaning state. This vote came into being because of grassroots activists who were tired of seeing California continue to deal with preventable emergencies such as rising crime, skyrocketing cost of living, rolling blackouts and energy mismanagement and the most restrictive lockdowns in the country during COVID. These crises have led to California actually losing population and having those former residents move to red states such as Texas and Florida.
These recall movements and suspension have been cheered by the conservative and evangelical crowds, who have felt singled out and targeted by far-left wings of government. During the COVID lockdown many churches, including Harvest Rock Church in California, were kept from opening due to overreaching lockdowns. In 2020, the Supreme Court sided with Harvest Rock that Gov. Newsom had overstepped his authority and overturned a lower court ruling in favor of Newsom. This case was brought to the Supreme Court while other entities that were not religious in nature were allowed to be open for gatherings with less restrictions than the churches faced. {eoa}
James Lasher is a copy editor for Charisma Media.
