TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis ordered illegal surveillance of immigrants and ignored concerns that relocating them from Texas to another state could be considered kidnapping or false imprisonment, the former chief of staff of the state’s top law enforcement agency said in a reporting process.
DeSantis also ordered the arrest of neo-Nazi protesters who were not breaking the law, former Florida Department of Law Enforcement chief of staff Shane Desguin said in a lawsuit filed this week in Leon County Circuit Court.
Desguin said management retaliated against him with an internal investigation that alleged he had a sexual relationship with a subordinate and recklessly pointed his unloaded gun at a co-worker in an impromptu class on how to defend oneself against an armed attacker.
The investigation came about as a result of Desguin’s reported violations of rules, regulations or laws and malfeasance, and his forced dismissal was in retaliation for failing to comply with those orders, the lawsuit said.
DeSantis’ office pointed to the internal investigation mentioned in the lawsuit when asked about the lawsuit. Spokesman Jeremy Redfern sent the Associated Press a post he made on X following news of the lawsuit.
“This guy was under a formal investigation, which revealed that he pointed his firearm at someone in his office,” Redfern said on X. “If I did this while I was in the army, I would have been court-martialed.”
DeSantis ordered the state transport nearly 50 migrants from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, two years ago. The flight made a brief stop in Florida. The action sparked a lawsuit and a criminal investigation amid allegations that migrants were misled and not told where they were going.
Desguin alleged in his lawsuit that the DeSantis administration floated the idea of flying immigrants from Texas to Florida before taking them to Massachusetts, and he raised concerns that the operation would be illegal.
But DeSantis’ chief of staff, James Uthmeier, said “it was imperative to complete at least ‘one flight’ of migrants from Florida to another state,” the lawsuit said, adding that Uthmeier said he could be fired if the order was followed. unrealized.
Last year, Uthmeier’s temporary replacement, Alex Kelly, called Desguin and said DeSantis wanted neo-Nazi protesters in Orlando arrested. Desguin responded that he could not arrest anyone for exercising their First Amendment rights, the lawsuit said.
“I don’t think you understand,” Kelly told Desguin, according to the lawsuit. “If you look hard enough, you can find a way. The governor wants someone arrested today.”
DeSantis continued to push for an arrest despite being told the arrests would be unconstitutional. After several days, the department began to make arrests for illegally attaching a banner for a highway overpass.
