Ron DeSantis Suspends Florida’s Only Black Female State Attorney in Radical Move — and Local Sheriff Mocks Her

Democrat Monique Worrell was elected in 2020 with 67% of the vote, but on Tuesday DeSantis announced her suspension for what he claimed was "neglect of duty"

Ron DeSantis suspended another democratically elected Florida state attorney on Tuesday in an extreme move that critics are calling politically motivated.

Monique Worrell was Florida's only Black female state attorney until DeSantis announced her suspension for what he claimed was "neglect of duty."

DeSantis, who is currently running for president in 2024, criticized Worrell for being too lenient on criminals. He has specifically called out her failure to charge a teenager accused of shooting and killing a 9-year-old girl and two others in a gang-related incident in 2022.

Worrell has said that witnesses in the case gave disjointed testimony and could not identify the suspect in a photo lineup, noting that the gunman was wearing a mask at the time of the incident.

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In announcing the suspension, DeSantis held a press conference where he was joined by two local sheriffs — neither of which, CNN notes, serves a county that overlaps with Worrell’s jurisdiction.

At the press conference, one of those sheriffs turned the suspension into a meme, mocking Worrell by holding up a photoshopped sign showing her in a burning cartoon room with a "this is fine" thought bubble above her head.

At her own press conference, Worrell suggested she intended to fight the suspension, saying, “I am a duly elected state attorney for the Ninth Judicial Circuit. And nothing done by a weak dictator can change that.”

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Critics have slammed the suspension as political, noting that Worrell served the liberal-leaning areas of Orange and Osceola counties and was elected to her role with 67% of the vote. Florida Democratic Party chairwoman Nikki Fried called the suspension "a political hit job."

That Worrell will be replaced by Judge Andrew Bain, who is reportedly a member of the conservative Federalist Society and was not elected by voters to the position, has only added to that criticism.

As Orlando Sentinel reporter Christopher Cann noted on X, formerly known as Twitter, Bain ranked last among Orange County criminal judges in a judicial-qualifications poll by the Central Florida Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys, with respondents describing him as prosecution-biased.

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Worrell is the second Democratic state attorney to be suspended under DeSantis, who last year also suspended Tampa’s elected prosecutor, Andrew Warren.

DeSantis' decision to remove Worrell comes as his 2024 presidential campaign faces numerous challenges, including low poll numbers, reports of wealthy donors pausing their contributions, and an overhaul of campaign staff.

DeSantis has maintained his suspension of Worrell is a result of incompetence, claiming in a press release that her "practices and policies have too often allowed violent criminals to escape the full consequences of their criminal conduct, thereby endangering the innocent civilians of Orange and Osceola counties."

“Prosecutors have a duty to faithfully enforce the law," DeSantis said in a press conference Tuesday morning. "One’s political agenda cannot trump this solemn duty."

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DeSantis himself, however, has been accused of being guided by his own political agenda. The governor launched a public fight with Disney after the company openly opposed the so-called "Don't Say Gay" bill.

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When Disney went public with its criticism of the measure, DeSantis asked state lawmakers to consider ending a deal between the company and Florida that, since 1967, has given it special privileges.

After Disney appeared to outmaneuver the governor by quietly taking back control of the district that same month, DeSantis hosted a press conference in which he joked about building a private prison next to Disney World, suggested opening a competing theme park near the property, and discussed the possibility of raising the company's taxes and imposing harsher restrictions on theme park rides.

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