Tallahassee
Gov. Ron DeSantis’ top deputies directed a Florida health department lawyer to threaten Florida television stations with criminal prosecution for running political advertisements that support enshrining abortion rights in the state’s Constitution, according to new court records.
Florida Department of Health General Counsel John Wilson was given prewritten letters from one of DeSantis’ lawyers on Oct. 3 and told to send them under his own name, he wrote in a sworn affidavit Monday.
Although he had never participated in any discussions about the letters, Wilson sent them anyway, he wrote, setting off a firestorm that led to a federal judge last week ordering the state not to threaten any more TV stations.
Wilson abruptly quit on Oct. 10, writing in his resignation letter that “A man is nothing without his conscience.” The letter, first reported by the Herald/Times, did not explicitly say he was resigning over the controversy.
But in his affidavit, Wilson said he quit to avoid sending out more letters to TV stations. His affidavit states DeSantis’ general counsel, Ryan Newman, and deputy general counsel, Jed Doty, directed him to send letters in his name.
“I resigned from my position as general counsel in lieu of complying with directives from Newman and Doty to send out further correspondence to media outlets,” he wrote.
The court records are the most detailed account yet of how the governor’s office is pressuring top administration officials and state employees to carry out a taxpayer-funded campaign to defeat Amendment 4, a ballot measure that if approved on Nov. 5 would broaden access to abortion.
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Wilson’s letters threatened to criminally prosecute television stations with second-degree misdemeanors if they did not take down a 30-second ad in support of the amendment.
The ad features Caroline Williams, who was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer two years ago while pregnant with her second child. The woman says Florida’s six-week abortion ban would have prevented her from receiving a potentially life-saving abortion.
Wilson’s letters said the ad was “categorically false” and that it constitutes an illegal “sanitary nuisance” under state law that could put women’s health and lives at risk if it continued to be broadcast. At least one station, WINK-TV, stopped running the ad.
The letters are now the subject of a federal lawsuit filed by Floridians Protecting Freedom, the group leading the Yes on 4 campaign. The group sued Wilson in his personal capacity along with Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo, the head of the Department of Health.
The group claimed the state agency’s threats were a violation of the group’s First Amendment rights to political speech, and a federal judge last week agreed to impose a temporary restraining order on the state from sending additional letters. The order expires later this month when a more complete hearing will be held.
“To keep it simple for the State of Florida: it’s the First Amendment, stupid,” U.S. District Judge Mark Walker wrote.
Because Wilson was directed to sign his name to the letters, suing him was “unnecessary,” attorneys for Floridians Protecting Freedom wrote in a court filing on Monday, saying it would drop him from the lawsuit.
“This affidavit exposes state interference at the highest level,” Lauren Brenzel, campaign director of Yes on 4, said in a statement. “It’s clear the State is hellbent on keeping Florida’s unpopular, cruel abortion ban in place.”
A request for comment to DeSantis’ office was not immediately returned.
On the day Wilson resigned, he signed two contracts with outside law firms to help the Department of Health come up with a course of action for “false political advertisements.” The contracts could cost taxpayers up to $1.4 million, records show.
In his affidavit, Wilson said Newman directed him to sign the contracts, which were meant “to assist with enforcement proceedings” relating to the Oct. 3 letters.
Wilson had worked for the state for 14 years before resigning. He became the Department of Health’s general counsel in March 2022.
This story was originally published October 21, 2024 9:29 AM.