DeSantis suspends Soros-backed Orlando state attorney over 'dereliction of duty' on crime

Anders Hagstrom
Fox News
Wed, 09 Aug 2023 16:10 UTC

© SOPA Images/Contributor/Getty Images | Orlando Sentinel/Contributor/Getty Images

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis suspended State Attorney Monique Worrell for "dereliction of duty" on crime via an executive order on Wednesday.

DeSantis' office says State Attorney Monique Worrell allowed criminals to 'escape the full consequences' of their actions

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis suspended Ninth Judicial Circuit State Attorney Monique Worrell for "dereliction of duty" on crime via an executive order on Wednesday.

DeSantis' office says that Worrell, whose jurisdiction includes Orlando, has routinely allowed murderers and other violent offenders to "escape the full consequences of their criminal conduct." The governor is tapping Florida judge Andrew Bain to replace Worrell as the state attorney for the 9th judicial circuit.

"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.

DeSantis highlighted the move in a news conference Wednesday morning alongside several other Florida officials. The officials, who included Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody, stated that Worrell routinely avoided mandatory minimum sentencing for gun crimes and drug trafficking offenses, as well as allowing juvenile offenders to avoid serious charges and incarceration.

She also allegedly limited charges against child pornography offenders and avoided sentencing enhancements such as those based on prior offenses.

© Fox News

Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd holds up an internet meme depicting SA Worrell ignoring clear problems.

The governor went on to tell reporters that he was confident the Florida constitution granted him authority to remove Worrell.

This is the second time DeSantis has taken drastic action against a Florida prosecutor who he says failed to do their jobs. He also suspended Hillsborough County state attorney Andrew Warren in August 2022 for refusing to enforce the state's abortion ban.

That suspension was upheld in court in a January decision from a federal judge.

© Octavio Jones/Getty Images

Ousted Florida State Attorney Andrew Warren holds a press conference on Aug. 17, 2022 in Tampa, FL after Florida Governor Ron DeSantis suspended him of his duties, in part for refusing to enforce abortion laws

Worrell's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.

Anders Hagstrom is a reporter with Fox News Digital covering national politics and major breaking news events. Send tips to [e-mail], or on Twitter: @Hagstrom_Anders.

Comment: Aaaand there goes another Soros-backed minion. May the trend continue. The Orlando-Sentinal reported August 16. 2020:

Backed by billionaire investor George Soros, who has helped tip local races before, a group is spending at least $1.5 million on last-minute ads to help one of the candidates in the crowded race to become the next top prosecutor for Orange and Osceola counties.

Records show that a new political committee raised more than $2.2 million and spent more than $1.5 million in the past two weeks — all of it, according to organizers, on behalf of Monique Worrell, a criminal-justice reform advocate who is one of four Democrats competing in the Tuesday primary to become the local state attorney.

That political committee - called "Our Vote Our Voice" — has raised most of its money from two sources: $1 million from the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, the group that spearheaded the 2018 constitutional amendment restoring voting rights to people who have completed felony sentences, and $1 million from Democracy PAC, a political committee set up by Soros, a Democratic billionaire and megadonor.

The last-minute, outside-ad blitz in support of Worrell mirrors the last election for Orange-Osceola state attorney, when Soros spent more than $1.3 million in the closing weeks of the 2016 campaign to elect the current state attorney, Aramis Ayala, who is not running for re-election.

[...]

Some of the ads aren't entirely accurate. One spot, for instance, calls Worrell a "former prosecutor." Worrell used to lead a unit in Ayala's office that investigates claims of innocence by people who have already been found guilty, but she has never prosecuted a case.