A former Florida Department of Health attorney said in a sworn affidavit that Gov. Ron DeSantis’ (R) office’s top deputies drafted the letters threatening TV stations with criminal prosecution for airing ads that advocated for the passage of an abortion rights ballot measure, and directed him to send them to the stations.
The letters from Florida officials threatening television stations in the state are at the heart of what appears to be a pressure campaign orchestrated by the DeSantis administration against Amendment 4, the ballot measure that seeks to codify abortion access in the Sunshine State constitution if it passes in November.
Former Florida Department of Health General Counsel John Wilson said he was handed pre-written letters by officials in the governor’s office on Oct. 3 and was told to send them out under his own name and on behalf of the Florida Department of Health, according to his sworn affidavit filed on Oct. 17. Wilson is one of two Florida Health Department officials recently sued by the group behind Amendment 4. Plaintiffs have since moved to dismiss Wilson as a defendant in light of the revelations about his resignation from the health department outlined in the affidavit.
Despite not drafting the letters or participating in any discussion about them, Wilson did what he was told and sent the letters to the local television stations, according to the affidavit. The cease-and-desist letters signed by Wilson suggested TV stations were violating Florida’s “sanitary nuisance” law by airing ads encouraging voters to support Amendment 4 and argued that they could face criminal charges for their actions, as TPM has previously reported.
Days later, Wilson was asked to send more letters to TV stations, according to the affidavit. Rather than sending them, Wilson resigned from his position, he said.
“A man is nothing without his conscience,” Wilson wrote in his resignation letter, according to a copy of the letter first reported by the Miami Herald and Tampa Bay Times. “It has become clear in recent days that I cannot join you on the road that lies before the agency.”
Spokespeople for the governor’s office did not immediately respond to TPM’s request for comment.
“This affidavit exposes state interference at the highest level,” Lauren Brenzel, campaign director for Yes On 4, said in a statement shared with TPM. “It’s clear the State is hellbent on keeping Florida’s unpopular, cruel abortion ban in place. Their extreme attacks on Amendment 4 are an anti-democratic tactic to keep Floridians from being able to make their own choice about whether Amendment 4 should become law. It’s a distraction, it’s desperate, and it won’t work. Yes on 4 is the only way to stop Florida’s harmful abortion ban.”
Wilson’s affidavit came just a day after Floridians Protecting Freedom, the group behind Amendment 4 filed a lawsuit last Wednesday against Wilson and state surgeon general and head of the Florida Department of Health Joseph Ladapo, alleging they are engaged in an “unconstitutional” campaign to attack the referendum “using public resources and government authority.”
The lawsuit claims that the defendants violated FPF’s First Amendment rights by threatening sanctions against media organizations that aired its political advertisements in support of Amendment 4 — a proposal DeSantis opposes.
On Monday, the plaintiffs moved to dismiss Wilson as a defendant, citing revelations from his affidavit.
A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order on Friday, ordering DeSantis administration officials to stop threatening local TV stations with criminal charges for airing a political ad in support of the measure in question.
In his order last week, U.S. District Chief Judge Mark Walker sided with supporters of Amendment 4, describing the state’s actions as “unconstitutional coercion” that violates the First Amendment.
“Whether it’s a woman’s right to choose, or the right to talk about it,” Walker wrote, “the First Amendment prohibits the State of Florida from trampling” on the freedom of speech of Amendment 4 supporters.
Read the Wilson affidavit here:
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