(NewsNation) — Claiming she neglected her duty to “faithfully prosecute crime” in her jurisdiction, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has suspended Orange-Osceola State Attorney Monique Worrell.
Worrell’s policies have allowed violent individuals to “escape the full consequences of their criminal conduct,” DeSantis said in a news release Wednesday. He cited Article IV, Section 7 of the Florida Consitution as giving him the authority to suspend a state office.
In her place, DeSantis, who is running for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, appointed former judge Andrew Bain, who will serve for the duration of Worrell’s suspension.
According to a news release, Bain most recently served as an Orange County judge, and previously served as assistant state attorney in the 9th Circuit.
“It is my duty as Governor to ensure that the laws enacted by our duly elected Legislature are followed,” DeSantis said in a statement. “The people of Central Florida deserve to have a State Attorney who will seek justice in accordance with the law instead of allowing violent criminals to roam the streets and find new victims.”
Another Florida prosecutor, Andrew Warren, was also suspended by DeSantis last year, after he said he would not pursue criminal charges against seekers or providers of abortion or gender transition treatments.
Warren — a twice-elected, Democratic state attorney in Hillsborough County, which includes Tampa — sued the governor in federal court to get his job back. However, a judge ruled in January that he does not have the power to reinstate Warren.
An email to Worrell was not immediately returned Wednesday morning.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
This story is developing and will be updated.