Hillsborough County State Attorney Andrew Warren at his home in Tampa, Florida, on Aug. 7. Photo: Thomas Simonetti for The Washington Post via Getty Images
A Florida prosecutor filed suit Wednesday against Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) for suspending him from office.
Driving the news: Hillsborough County State Attorney Andrew Warren (D) alleges that DeSantis violated his First Amendment rights, AP reports.
- "If the governor’s allowed to do this, what’s left of democracy? If the governor’s allowed to retaliate against me for speaking out, what’s left of the First Amendment," Warren said at a news conference in Tallahassee.
- DeSantis' office did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment.
State of play: DeSantis earlier this month announced in an executive order that Warren was suspended, accusing him of "incompetence and willful defiance as early as June 2021," Axios' Ben Montgomery and Selene San Felice reported.
- The executive order cites Warren's signing of a joint statement with other prosecutors condemning laws that criminalize doctors who perform gender-affirming health care.
- DeSantis also said he suspended Warren for signing a pledge to not press charges against those receiving an abortion or their doctors or families seeking treatment for transgender minors.
- Warren argues in Wednesday's suit that the governor did not identify any conduct that would warrant a suspension, AP notes.
Catch up quick: Warren vowed days after he was suspended that he was "not going down without a fight."
Go deeper: Gov. Ron DeSantis suspends Hillsborough State Attorney Andrew Warren