Florida Governor Ron Desantis has taken action against a state attorney for refusing to enforce bans on abortion and transgender surgeries.

Governor Ron Desantis

This comes after the state attorney, Andrew Warren, signed a letter vowing not to prosecute certain offenses under Florida law, including abortions after 15 weeks, and any future legislation that would ban gender-affirming care for minors.

Former State Attorney Andrew Warren

Governor Desantis said Hillsborough County State Attorney Andrew Warren was suspended for “neglect of duty.”

In a statement, Governor Desantis added “when you flagrantly violate your oath of office, when you make yourself above the law, you have violated your duty, you have neglected your duty and you are displaying a lack of competence to be able to perform those duties. Therefore, today we are suspending state attorney Andrew Warren effective immediately.”

Judge Susan Lopez speaking at a press conference with Governor Desantis

The governor has replaced Warren with former Judge Susan Lopez. The former judge released the following statement following her appointment “I have the utmost respect for our state laws and I understand the important role that the State Attorney plays in ensuring the safety of our community and the enforcement of our laws.”