State Attorney Monique Worrell was suspended on Wednesday by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. DeSantis is running for the Republican nomination for president but he still has a day job.

DeSantis suspended Ninth Judicial Circuit State Attorney Monique Worrell for “dereliction of duty” on crime via an executive order. His office said that Worrell routinely allowed murderers and other violent criminals “escape the full consequences of their criminal conduct.” DeSantis has chosen Florida Judge Andrew Bain to replace Worrell.

“The practices and policies of her office have allowed murderers, other violent offenders, and dangerous drug traffickers to receive extremely reduced sentences and escape the full consequences of their criminal conduct. In some cases, these offenders have evaded incarceration altogether,” DeSantis’ office wrote in a statement.

“State Attorney Worrell’s practices undermine Florida law and endanger the safety, security, and welfare of the communities that Ms. Worrell was elected to serve,” it continued.

Too bad. So sad. Nah. She’s a Soro-backed Democrat who, according to Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody, said that Worrell avoided mandatory minimum sentencing for gun crimes and drug trafficking offenses. She allowed juvenile offenders to avoid serious charges and incarceration, too. It is alleged that she limited charges against child pornography offenders and she avoided sentencing enhancements such as those based on prior offenses.

DeSantis old reporters at the press conference that he is confident that the Florida constitution grants him this authority. That confidence probably comes the outcome from when he suspended the first state attorney he thought was not doing his job in enforcing the state’s abortion ban. When DeSantis suspended Hillsborough County State Attorney Andrew Warren in August 2022 the suspension was upheld by a federal judge.

The narrative emerging from Democrats is that DeSantis did this because his presidential campaign is floundering. Worrell calls it a “smoke screen.”

“He needed to get back in the media in some positive way in a way that would be red meat for his base and he will have accomplished that today,” Worrell said. “He will be in the news nationally and internationally for the individual who has single handedly destroyed democracy in the state of Florida.”

Does a Florida attorney really think that democracy has been “destroyed” in Florida? Wow. I must have missed that breaking news headline.

CNN did its part in slamming DeSantis by publishing a snarky article about the suspension. The headline started it off by acknowledging that Worrell is a “democratically elected prosecutor,” as though that makes dereliction of duty acceptable. DeSantis noted that he was removing Worrell for “neglect of duty and incompetence”, which sounds pretty specific.

While Democrats are busy accusing DeSantis of playing politics with this suspension, DeSantis called out political agendas.

“Prosecutors have a duty to faithfully enforce the law. One’s political agenda cannot trump this solemn duty. Refusing to faithfully enforce the laws of Florida puts our communities in danger and victimizes innocent Floridians,” DeSantis said.

The best part of the CNN article, though, is when the words drip with bitterness that Fox News put up the story before other news organizations had the story.

Now, with his presidential campaign struggling to gain traction, DeSantis has once again used his vast executive authority in a way that has already brought the national spotlight on him. By the time DeSantis stepped to the lectern in Tallahassee’s capitol building to deliver the news, Fox News had published a story on his latest maneuver.

“His latest maneuver.” Lol! How about just writing that the governor was doing his job and addressing crime and law and order in Florida?

Worrell said she may pursue legal action but acknowledged that her chances of success in court are slim. Warren has not been successful in getting reinstated.

The Florida constitution allows a governor to remove an elected official for “malfeasance, misfeasance, neglect of duty, habitual drunkenness, incompetence, or permanent inability to perform official duties.” No previous Florida executive has interpreted that power as broadly as DeSantis. The state Senate can reinstate Worrell, but the chamber is controlled by Republicans closely aligned with DeSantis and have rarely stood in his way.

Worrell went on to call DeSantis “a weak dictator.”

Hours after the announcement, Worrell stood outside her office in Orlando and said she would fight the move in court.

“I am your duly elected state attorney and nothing done by a weak dictator can change that,” she said, also noting that she would run for re-election.

Kamala Harris and Bernie Sanders endorsed Worrell when she ran for the job. She was linked to liberal billionaire George Soros during the campaign, having received a boost from groups linked to Soros during the 2020 Democrat primary. Since then she has distanced herself from him. She said they have never met and only learned of his support via groups connected to him through news reports. Color me skeptical. Soros support would be a big “get” by a Democrat candidate. Are we to believe she didn’t know who was supporting her in her last campaign? Please.

This is a tweet from a DeSantis staffer that spells out Worrell’s actions in a thread.

Today, @GovRonDeSantis suspended State Attorney Monique Worrell for dereliction of duty and incompetence.

Here are some examples of her policies or practices in action.

— Will Chamberlain (@willchamberlain) August 9, 2023