Gov. Ron DeSantis vowed that if he wins the presidency, he will “eliminate political bias and end the weaponization” of the US Department of Justice “once and for all.”
“We’ve seen years of unequal law enforcement based on political affiliation,” he wrote on Twitter Thursday night in response to news that former President Donald Trump has been federally indicted on corruption-related charges. handling of classified documents.
The tone was consistent with DeSantis’ portrayal of himself as fighting liberal takeovers of powerful institutions. But as governor, DeSantis has not been afraid to use law enforcement, the courts or the expansion of his own executive powers to pursue his own agenda.
Here are three examples of DeSantis pushing the legal envelope to get what he wants:
Prosecute criminals for voting
Hours before DeSantis held an afternoon news conference surrounded by uniformed law enforcement officers, nearly 20 people with criminal records were arrested across Florida as part of a planned sting operation by state police.
DeSantis warned others that if they too cast a vote incorrectly, “We’re coming.”
The arrests were a showcase of the powers of the newly created Office of Election Crimes and Security, which DeSantis pushed amid pressure from the Republican base to do more to investigate Trump’s baseless claims of widespread voter fraud.
The people arrested had voted in the election despite being convicted of disqualifying offences, including sex offenses and murder. Many expressed confusion about the charges, saying they had been issued voter ID cards and thought they were elected to vote.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement was tasked with making the arrests, and some of the officers were almost apologetic as they did so, showing body camera footage. Several former agents recently said so The Washington Post they believe DeSantis has politicized the department.
Of the 19 people initially arrested, 12 were registered Democrats and at least 13 are black, the Times/Herald found.
Lawyers representing the ex-offenders argued in court that the prosecutions were a “waste of time” and were made to “make a political point”.
The arrests represented a more aggressive approach to voter fraud cases than other prosecutors have taken in the past. In Lake County, for example, Republican state’s attorney declined to press charges against six convicted sex offenders who voted in 2020 because they did not commit the crime “voluntarily” as required by law.
Dismissal of a Florida prosecutor
In August, flanked by Tampa Bay law enforcement, DeSantis announced he was suspending Hillsborough State’s Attorney Andrew Warren for what he said was the prosecutor’s dereliction of duty to apply state laws.
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Warren, a Democrat who had been elected twice to office, had signed pledges saying she would not enforce laws banning care for gender-affirming minors or laws limiting abortion, examples of actions that DeSantis said they showed how Warren “publicly put herself above the law.” .”
The suspension was essentially a firing, which Warren has fought in court. Earlier this year, U.S. District Judge Robert L. Hinkle ruled that DeSantis’ actions were unconstitutional, writing that DeSantis was largely motivated by the political benefit of removing “a prosecutor whose performance does not match with the governor’s law and order agenda.” However, Hinkle also found he lacked the authority to reinstate Warren.
The move marked a significant expansion of DeSantis’ executive powers. While governors have the authority to suspend duly elected local officials, it has historically been reserved mostly for cases where the officials have been accused of crimes.
DeSantis routinely references his firing of Warren during his presidential speeches.
“Florida has fought the plague of (George) Soros-backed district attorneys,” he told the crowd during his 2024 campaign kickoff speech in Iowa, to applause. “When we had one of those prosecutors … I removed him from his position.”
COVID-19 vaccine grand jury
DeSantis’ political actions increased in 2020 and 2021, as he became one of the nation’s most vocal governors in criticizing COVID-19 restrictions. While he initially encouraged the people of Florida to get the COVID-19 vaccine, he has since amplified the voices of people pushing the vaccine misinformation, and his administration has recommended against vaccinating to some groups.
In December, he took his battle to court and called for a statewide grand jury to investigate “criminal or unlawful activity” related to how the vaccines were developed, promoted and distributed.
He announced his request at the end of a 90-minute panel discussion with Florida’s surgeon general that focused on alleged vaccine harm. On that panel, DeSantis included several medical professionals who have criticized vaccines. Most public health experts say that the COVID-19 vaccines are safe and beneficial, and that serious side effects are rare.
Shortly after he filed his petition, the Florida Supreme Court granted his request for a grand jury. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is the designated lead in the investigation.
It is the third state grand jury that DeSantis has convened. The other two focused on migrants brought to Florida and school safety after the Parkland massacre.
Statewide grand juries have been empaneled only about 20 times in more than 40 years. Before DeSantis’ 2019 request to investigate school safety, the last statewide grand jury was in 2009, when former Gov. Charlie Crist asked to investigate crimes such as bribery and fraud committed by local and state public officials.
