Chris Sprowls joins national group fighting ‘woke’ prosecutors

Democrats urge Chris Sprowls to take a closer look at the money spent to fly Texas migrants to Massacheutsetts.

Outgoing Republican House Speaker Chris Sprowls is joining the advisory board of a national group dedicated to electing District Attorneys while fighting what it calls “woke” prosecutors.

The Protecting Americans Project last March sprang from GOPAC, a tax-exempt, Arlington, Virginia-based organization dedicated to training up a new generation of state and local Republican leaders. GOPAC’s offspring is focused on law and order, counteracting “soft on crime” District Attorneys, according to the release.

“In recent years, radical leftists like (billionaire financier) George Soros have spent tens of millions of dollars to elect prosecutors in communities around the country who are letting criminals off the hook,” Sprowls said, in a prepared statement.

“These new so-called ‘reform’ prosecutors are being elected in big cities like New York, Chicago, and LA (Los Angeles) but they are also being elected in smaller jurisdictions, even here in Florida.”

The group’s stated aim has echoes of a current Florida controversy.

Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis last month suspended Hillsborough County District Attorney Andrew Warren, a Democrat, saying Warren had put himself “above the law.”

Most of DeSantis’ complaints, however, involved Warren’s statements that he wouldn’t prosecute women who have abortions beyond the 15th week of pregnancy, or Floridians who seek gender affirming care for trans youth.

Warren may have received funding from Soros in his 2016 upset victory that unseated a longtime Republican incumbent, according to reporting from the Tampa Bay Times.

Sprowls had high praise for the Governor’s leadership on this topic, even if he didn’t mention Warren by name.

“Under the leadership of Gov. DeSantis and in conjunction with the Legislature, Florida has pushed back against lawlessness and the entities that threaten the safety and security of our communities,” Sprowls’ statement Thursday said.

Warren has pushed back against his suspension, asking the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida to reinstate him to his elected post. DeSantis’ team filed a response asking the judge to dismiss Warren’s suit.

No material on this new project’s website indicates that Warren’s dust-up is on its radar, although Thursday’s release highlighted the actions of prosecutors in Manhattan and Virginia.

The site does show, however, that Sprowls will be joining some elite company, including Attorney Generals from Georgia and West Virginia, U.S. Attorneys, and elected leaders including Arkansas Lt. Gov. Tim Griffin.

Fighting the “woke” ideology that’s taken hold in these prosecutors’ offices is important, Sprowls said.

“These hyper-political prosecutors bring a criminal-first, victim-last mindset to their job — and it’s wrong,” Sprowls said. “Their ideology-driven decisions make our communities less safe, they cause businesses to invest elsewhere, impacting jobs and economic development. That’s why we need to elect effective prosecutors who will put victims first.”