ORLANDO -- Orlando's top prosecutor is the second removed from office by Governor DeSantis in a year. Reaction to the move is breaking down mostly along party lines.
The governor declared that Orange-Osceola State Attorney Monique Worrell was allowing too many criminal suspects to avoid jail time or pre-trial detention. One suspect, Daton Viel, is accused of shooting and wounding two Orlando officers, while out on bond after being accused of kidnapping and molesting a 14-year-old girl. Worrell had argued that bond was set by judges, not prosecutors.
State Attorney General Ashley Moody responded in advance to claims that the suspension of Democrat Monique Worrell is political. She said that Worrell had a higher rate of dismissing or not filing charges in her 9th Judicial Circuit than other counties with Democrats in the state attorney's office, specifically Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties.
Another prosecutor removed by DeSantis, ousted Hillsborough State Attorney Andrew Warren, argued that the governor's suspension is driven by attempts to shore up his presidential campaign. "He wants to be a bully, but he’s actually a coward who has repeatedly violated the rule of law and the will of the voters to cover up his own weakness.”
Along with Moody, DeSantis was joined at a Tallahassee news event announcing the suspension by Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd and Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey. Judd described what he calls the Worrell Effect: "Lax prosecution plus you don't support law enforcement equals, people aren't safe." Ivey said that Worrell's office "allowed lawlessness to take root" and that "hug a thug" policies would be coming to an end.
Neither of the two sheriffs in the 9th Circuit, Orange's John Mina or Osceola's Marcos Lopez, appeared at the news conference. Both are Democrats. But Judd says he had spoken with both and that they expressed the opinion that they couldn't keep their residents safe while Worrell was state attorney. Lopez later issued a statement welcoming the new state attorney, Judge Andrew Bain. " As the Sheriff of Osceola County, the safety of our community is and always will be my number one priority. The criminal justice system only works when law enforcement investigates and arrests those who commit crime and the State Attorney’s Office prosecutes those offenders. We welcome Judge Andrew Bain as the new State Attorney and look forward to our offices working together for justice. The victims of crime in Osceola County will always come first."
South Florida Republican Representative Daniel Perez endorsed the move: "The rule of law is important here, and once you begin to dissolve the rule of law you begin to lose your state and the governor's not going to allow that."
Democrats in the Florida House and the state's U.S. House delegation denounced the move. "This is another partisan, political attack by Florida’s Governor that ignores the will of the people,” said the Members. “State Attorney Monique Worrell was duly elected by the people of Orange and Osceola counties. The Governor does not have the right to dismiss an elected official from office just because she’s not serving his radical, political agenda—that’s not grounds for suspension. We demand the Governor reinstate her immediately.”
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