Ex-Florida Official Says He Was Forced Out For Defying Illegal Ron De Santis Orders

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis ordered illegal surveillance of immigrants and ignored concerns that relocating them from Texas to another state could could be considered kidnapping or false imprisonment, the former chief of staff at the state’s top law enforcement agency said in a whistleblower lawsuit.

DeSantis also ordered the arrests of neo-Nazi demonstrators who weren’t 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 the administration retaliated against him with an internal investigation that claimed he had a sexual relationship with a subordinate and recklessly pointed his unloaded gun at a coworker in an impromptu lesson on how to defend against an armed attacker.

The investigation happened as a result of Desguin reporting violations of rules, regulations or laws and malfeasance, and his forced resignation was retaliation for failing to comply with those orders, the lawsuit said.

DeSantis’ office pointed at 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 after news reports about the lawsuit.

“This guy was under a formal investigation, which revealed that he pointed his firearm at somebody in his office,” Redfern said on X. “If I did that while in the military, I would’ve been court-martialed..”

DeSantis ordered the state to fly nearly 50 migrants from Texas to to Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, two years ago. The flight made a brief stop in Florida. The action spurred a lawsuit and a criminal investigation amid claims the migrants were misled and not told where they