DA suspended by DeSantis describes 'Orwellian thought police' treatment as he was hauled out of his office

Appearing on MSNBC's "The Katie Phang Show" early Sunday morning, the Florida district attorney who was suspended from his job by Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) for pledging to not prosecute doctors or women over abortions described the horrific way he was forcibly removed from his office, saying it was akin to what you would see in Russia, China or North Korea.

Speaking with the host, Hillsborough County DA Andrew Warren said the whole affair reeked of living in an Orwellian Police state.

"Let's be clear, this isn't about anything I have done," he began. "This is about what I've said. The statements that I signed onto were value statements expressing my opposition to legislation that was being considered and passed that was violating people's constitutional rights."

"So I'd be punished not only for cases that have not come before me but for cases that don't even exist or not even on the ballot in the state of Florida," he continued. "This is Orwellian thought police, I'm being punished for not enforcing laws that are not even on the books yet."

Asked what happened on the day when the Republican governor went after him, Warren said he was forced from his office by an armed deputy who refused to let him talk to his staff.

"First of all, this happened so quickly," he recalled. "I mean, I was blindsided by this coup. An armed deputy came into my office and told me I had to leave. I was not even able to gather my things, wasn't able to talk to my staff, wasn't able to look at the order that this was based on."

"I was worried I was going to be put into handcuffs and dragged out of my own office," he added. "But let's be clear, we are going to fight back against this illegal order and fight hard. We will end up launching a thorough defense of our democracy that eviscerates this nonsensical and illegal order by the government."

Watch below or at this link.

MSNBC 08 07 2022 07 19 07youtu.be