Orlando, Florida – Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Wednesday suspended Monique H. Worrell, the state’s attorney for the Ninth Judicial Circuit Court for the state of Florida, which includes Orange and Osceola counties.
DeSantis reported in the middle of a press conference that the suspension is effective immediately. The decision follows an investigation into the accusation of a young man suspected of shooting to death television reporter Dylan Lyons, Nathacha Augustin and 9-year-old girl T’yonna Major, according to reports from The Associated Press.
According to a press release, the governor suspended her from her duties for “disregarding her duty to faithfully prosecute crimes in her jurisdiction. Worrell’s practices and policies have too often allowed violent offenders to escape the full consequences of their conduct.” criminal activity, thereby endangering the innocent civilians of Orange and Osceola counties.”
For her part, Ashley Moody, the state’s attorney, said that “she was elected to do something simple. It was to protect the public by prosecuting people.”
This is the second time the Florida governor has removed a Democratic state attorney, having removed Andrew Warren, a two-time elected attorney in Tampa.
The Chair of the Florida Democratic Party on a tour of Miami-Dade -motivating voter registration- offers a reason for such an act. “He has a failed presidential campaign so he’s trying to get attention. This is completely political.”
While a lawyer points to a legal principle, the discretion of prosecutors.
“If the community is angry and doesn’t like it, the community can vote against it in 2024 or whenever, but for me it is the law that requires prosecutorial discretion,” says lawyer JC Planas.
REACTS MONIQUE H. WORRELL
Just hours after DeSantis announced his decision, Worrell held a press conference with his first remarks after his removal.
With a smile on her face, Worrell recalled at a press conference that she “was elected State’s Attorney for the Ninth Judicial Circuit” and described DeSantis as “a weak dictator.”
“Under this tyranny, elected officials can be removed simply for political reasons and at the whim of the governor. And no matter how you feel about me, you shouldn’t agree to that,” Worrell said at the start of the news conference.
He also said that the governor’s decision is “simply a smokescreen for Ron DeSantis’ failed and disastrous presidential campaign.”
“He needed to get back into the media in some positive way so that he would be ready for his base. And he will have done that today. He will be in the news nationally and internationally as the individual who has single-handedly destroyed democracy in the state of Florida,” he said.
According to Worrell, she learned about his dismissal in the morning, when she received a call from the Governor’s Office telling her of the state chief executive’s action and that she was not to report to his office this Wednesday.
Worrell was elected in November 2020 to fill that position. When she took office, she became the second African-American elected as state’s attorney and the first of Caribbean descent.
This past Tuesday, DeSantis replaced his campaign manager in an attempt to come back as a Republican candidate in the race for the presidency of the United States.
