Judge holds MAGA Florida attorney general in contempt for defiance

U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams found firebrand Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier in civil contempt Tuesday for defying an April order.

Earlier this year, The Independent reports Williams banned the enforcement of a Florida law making undocumented immigrant travel a misdemeanor while the contested law is being challenged in court. But Uthmeier sent out a notice to Florida law enforcement telling them he personally disagreed with the order, calling it “both wrong on the merits and overbroad on its scope,” according to court documents. The AG added that his office will “continue to press these scope-of-relief arguments in the district court and, as appropriate, in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.”

Later, in a follow-up memo, Uthmeier told officers he “cannot prevent [them] from enforcing” the challenged laws.

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“It is my view that no lawful, legitimate order currently impedes your agencies from continuing to enforce Florida’s new illegal entry and reentry laws,” he wrote.

Weeks later, the court demanded of Uthmeier why he should not be held in contempt or sanctioned over his texts, but the AG claims he hadn’t technically violated William’s order because he does not personally enforce the contested law. That duty falls to officers.

However, while Uthmeier does not act as a grounds enforcement officer, the court determined he did wrongfully adopt the role of interpreting the law as a court magistrate, and decided Uthmeier requires looking after. As part of Williams' new order finding him in contempt, the AG must now file bi-weekly reports “detailing whether any arrests, detentions, or law enforcement actions pursuant to [the challenged laws] have occurred, and if so, how many, when, and by which law enforcement agency.”

While misinterpreting or ducking court orders himself, Uthmeier is not above threatening local law enforcement and sheriffs he feels do not uphold his goals. Earlier this month, Uthmeier sent Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony a letter warning he could be removed from office if he did not overtly agree to help the Trump administration crackdown on immigration.

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“I would hope your statements were mere political posturing, but if not, your expressed positions would constitute a failure of your statutory obligation to utilize ‘the best efforts to support the enforcement of federal immigration law’”, Uthmeier wrote.

A week prior, Tony had informed his local county commission that stretched county resources did not give him the luxury of enforcing immigration, which he felt should be left to the federal government.

“We have other priorities in this community that I’m focused on, and immigration is not one of them, not to dismiss the importance of that,” Tony had said.

Read the full Independent report at this link.