Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has suspended State Attorney Andrew Warren for 'picking and choosing which laws to enforce based on his personal agenda,' and has appointed Susan Lopez as his replacement during the suspension.
Warren, who had served the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit, has most recently refused to follow state policy criminalizing abortion in the wake of the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade - and repeatedly refused to enforce laws cracking down on child sex-change surgeries, according to DeSantis.
The liberal state attorney also declined to prosecute 67 protesters arrested in George Floyd demonstrations, and said in 2017 that he would only pursue the death penalty "in the very worst cases," and not where "mental illness played a role."
"We are suspending Soros-backed 13th circuit state attorney Andrew Warren for neglecting his duties as he pledges not to uphold the laws of the state," DeSantis' office said in a statement, per Fox News.
DeSantis made the announcement at a Thursday press conference surrounded by Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody and others.
"The constitution of Florida has vested the veto power in the governor, not in individual state attorneys," DeSantis said. "so, when you flagrantly violate your oath of office .. when you make yourself above the law, you have violated your duty and you have neglected your duty, and you are displaying a lack of competence to be able to perform those duties," he continued.
"And so today we are suspending state attorney Andrew Warren, effective immediately," DeSantis concluded to applause.
"This isn't about abortion or any one thing, it's about having accountability to our system of law and order to prosecute crime. There has been a pattern developing in Hillsborough County where one person picks and chooses which laws he wishes to enforce," DeSantis' office stated.
