After winning 57% of the vote in November, Democratic Monique Worrell is supposed to be sworn in Tuesday as the new Orange-Osceola State Attorney after fighting to get her job back.
But Orange County Democrats are raising alarms, saying they believe there is a state investigation into Worrell that could keep her from office.
“Though we do not know the full details of the grand jury proceedings at hand, we are alarmed by their suspicious timing just days before Worrell’s oath of office and by what appears to be yet another politically motivated effort by Governor Ron DeSantis to undermine the will of the people,” according to a statement signed by members of the Orange County delegation.
Signing onto that letter were Sens. Kristen Arrington, Carlos Guillermo Smith and Geraldine Thompson, along with Reps. LaVon Bracy Davis, Anna Eskamani, Jennifer “Rita” Harris, Johanna López and Leonard Spencer.
The Orlando Sentinel reported that Worrell was at the Polk County Courthouse Friday, but she declined to comment on why she was there.
DeSantis threw Worrell out of office in 2023 and replaced her with Andrew Bain. DeSantis argued she was unfit for the job. Worrell accused the Republican Governor of a politically motivated attack.
Worrell then defeated Bain in the November General Election to regain the job.
“State Attorney Worrell was overwhelmingly re-elected by the voters of Orange and Osceola County — defeating Ron DeSantis’ handpicked appointee — to serve as a voice for justice and fairness in our community,” the Democrats’ statement said. “It is unacceptable to weaponize the power of state government and the justice system to target political opponents and undo the will of the voters.”
After losing, Bain initially said he was not going to help Worrell transition into the office. He later backtracked and promised he would help her.
Leading up to the election, DeSantis played coy when asked whether he would try to suspend Worrell or the top Hillsborough County prosecutor again if they won. (Andrew Warren, the Hillsborough State Attorney whom DeSantis also removed from office in 2023 did not win in November.)
“When both of those folks were in office, they took the position that they didn’t have to enforce laws they disagreed with that caused people to be put back on the street who then victimized folks that should not have been victimized,” DeSantis said at a September press conference, adding that “law enforcement” shared his concerns.
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