TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — 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.
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. “This guy was under a formal investigation, which revealed that he pointed his firearm at somebody in his office,” Redfern, 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 were going.
But DeSantis’ chief of staff, James Uthmeier, said “it was imperative to complete at least ‘one flight’ of the migrants from Florida to another state,” the lawsuit said, adding that Uthmeier said he could be fired if the order wasn’t carried out.