- Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis suspended a Democratic State Attorney on Thursday.
- DeSantis said Andrew Warren refused to enforce some policies like those on abortion.
- Warren told MSNBC on Saturday he's not being punished for his actions but for what he said.
Former Florida State Attorney Andrew Warren who was suspended by Gov. Ron DeSantis last week said he's being punished for laws that are not even on the books yet.
"This is Orwellian Thought Police, where I'm being punished for not enforcing laws that are not even on the books yet," Warren told MSNBC's Katie Phang during a Saturday interview.
—The Recount (@therecount) August 7, 2022
DeSantis announced last week that he was suspending Warren, a Democratic state attorney, for refusing to enforce some of the state's laws.
"We don't elect people in one part of the state to have veto power over what the entire state decides on these important issues," DeSantis said at a press event flanked by Tampa sheriffs.
Insider's Kimberly Leonard reported that DeSantis cited a letter Warren signed stating he would not enforce laws that prohibit transgender care for minors. However, the state does not have a law banning transgender care for minors.
Another issue cited by DeSantis was Florida's ban on abortion after 15 weeks, which Warren called "unconstitutional."
Warren called the move "an illegal overreach that continues a dangerous pattern by Ron DeSantis of using his office to further his own political ambition."
Phang asked Warren if "there any limits to your prosecutorial discretion?" as DeSantis has suggested.
"Let's be clear, this isn't about anything that I've done," Warren replied. "This is about what I said. The statements that I signed on to were value statements expressing my opposition to legislation that was being considered and passed that was violating people's constitutional rights."