Florida - January 8, 2024: Suspended Hillsborough County State Attorney Andrew Warren has announced that he will not run again for the public prosecutor position voters twice elected him to.
In an announcement Monday Warren said he initially intended to run again following his August 2022 suspension by Governor DeSantis, but he explained that he has come to the conclusion that if he "ran and won (the Governor) could suspend me again, for whatever reason he wanted."
"The courts have let (the Governor's) illegal political stunt stand," said Warren, "and then we would be right back where we are today, with an illegal, unqualified political appointee installed in the job."
Republican Suzy Lopez was appointed by DeSantis to replace Warren the same day he was dismissed. She has already announced that she will run for election to the post.
DeSantis suspended Warren for what the Governor called Warren's "neglect of duty." He accused Warren of putting "himself above the law" by refusing to enforce laws prohibiting sex changes for minors, or limiting abortion.
Warren had signed a statement, along with other prosecutors nationwide, saying he would not pursue criminal charges against seekers or providers
of abortion or gender transition treatments. However he never "refused" to prosecute such a case because he was never presented with one.
Warren has gone to court seeking reinstatement, accusing DeSantis of breaking "state and federal law to keep me from serving as state attorney."
In January of last year, U.S. District U.S. District Judge for Northern Florida, Robert Hinkle, concluded that DeSantis had violated the First Amendment and the Florida Constitution by removing an elected state prosecutor, but he also concluded that federal law prevented him from reinstating Warren to his position because "the Eleventh Amendment prohibits a federal court from awarding declaratory or injunctive relief of the kind at issue against a state
official based only on a violation of state law.”
Warren has appealed that decision and is still awaiting a decision.
VIEW Warren's statement HERE or READ it in FULL below:
Andrew Warren's statement:
I’ve made a difficult decision that I want to share with you right away:
It was my privilege and honor to represent the United States as a federal prosecutor, and I ran for state attorney to continue my public service in the community where I am raising my children. I ran to make Hillsborough safer and our criminal justice system better.
I’m extremely proud of what we accomplished in my six years. Crime went down 30%. We aggressively prosecuted violent crime, gun crime, and sexual assault. We started diversion programs, mental health courts, and prevention programs. And I kept my promises to this community.
The Robert Duboise case exemplifies what we accomplished. If I hadn’t been state attorney, DuBoise would have died in prison an innocent man, the actual perpetrators would have gotten away with the rapes and murders of two young women, and the victims’ families would not have the justice they deserve after 40 years.
Every day we made tough decisions, and reasonable people can disagree over some of those choices. But we always did what we thought best for public safety, victims, and justice. We upheld the Constitution even when it was not convenient, and rather than exploiting problems in the system to inflate our conviction rate, we fixed them to maximize public safety. I stood up for what I believed in, our community’s values, and the rule of law.
The suspension has been hard on my family and me, but it is about so much more than that. It is about having elections that matter, protecting our democracy, and making sure no one — not even the governor — is above the law. Donald Trump said he could shoot someone in the middle of 5th Avenue and get away with it. Ron DeSantis, trying to out-Trump Trump, shot democracy in the middle of our courthouse — and he’s gotten away with it.
I have been planning to run for re-election since the day I was suspended. But the governor has made clear that he does not care about the will of the voters or our democracy, and that he is willing to break state and federal law to keep me from serving as state attorney. Because the courts have let his illegal political stunt stand, if I ran and won he could suspend me again for whatever reason he wanted. And then we would be right back where we are today, with an illegal, unqualified political appointee installed in the job.
I care about the State Attorney’s Office and this community too much to have that cloud of uncertainty hanging over us. I care too much to have that office remain leaderless – with a political puppet in a position she didn’t earn and isn’t qualified to hold. So I won’t run for a position that I’ve won twice and would win again.
For 17 months I’ve had countless people encourage me to run for re-election — Democrats and Republicans, lawyers and business leaders, cops and civilians. It has meant so much to know that I was able to make such a difference and earn the confidence of so many. I know people will be disappointed because they want me back as the state attorney. But as I’ve said since the day I was illegally suspended, this fight was always about more than me.
Ron DeSantis broke our democracy, and it’s too fragile and too important to let him do it again. So I will take one for the team and not run, as I continue to challenge the illegal suspension in court and fight to serve out my term on behalf of the community that elected me.
I want to thank the dedicated public servants in the State Attorney’s Office. It has been an honor to work with and learn from you. Together, we made Hillsborough the safest large county in the state, and our office a shining example of a modern, effective 21st century prosecutor’s office. I know morale is incredibly low now, but keep your heads high. The mission of the office is more important than the person sitting in the State Attorney’s chair, whether that person is a strong, effective leader elected by the community — or not.
I also want to thank our law enforcement officers. I have tremendous respect for what you do every day for our entire community, and that hasn’t changed just because the governor injected partisan politics into our working relationship. I wish the true courage of the cops on the street would rub off some political courage onto those politicians in Tallahassee.
Finally, I want to thank this community. You believed in my vision; you placed your trust in me; and you’ve stood with me against the governor’s illegal political stunt. It has been my privilege to serve, and I look forward to finding new ways to build a safer, stronger Florida.