Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis should turn over records in reference to migrant flights his administration chartered from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, a Florida judge dominated Tuesday, saying it failed to adjust to the state’s public records legislation after an open government group sued for the information.
Circuit Judge J. Lee Marsh ordered the administration to present the records sought by the group, the Florida Center for Government Accountability, inside 20 days of his ruling, stated Michael Barfield, the group’s director of public entry. Marsh rejected arguments from DeSantis’ attorneys that they need to be permitted to wait till Dec. 1 to turn over the records, which embody a request for phone and text logs of the governor’s chief of employees, James Uthmeier.
DeSantis’ workplace didn’t reply to a request for remark on the ruling, which was reported by The Miami Herald.
The Florida Center for Government Accountability alleged in its swimsuit this month that the delay by the governor’s workplace in turning over records is unjustified.
The group tweeted that it was “very pleased” with the judge’s ruling, saying, “It’s a great day for the Public Records Act and the right to know what our government is doing!”
Barfield said the group views the ruling as “an necessary victory for the general public’s proper to know.”
“This is an important sign to DeSantis that he’s not immune from the legislation and he should adjust to that,” Barfield said.
Last month, DeSantis chartered planes carrying about 50 migrants from San Antonio to Martha’s Vineyard, escalating a tactic first used by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to draw attention to what they consider to be the Biden administration’s failed border policies. Abbott has sent thousands of migrants to New York City, Chicago and Washington, D.C., liberal strongholds that bill themselves as “sanctuary cities” for migrants.
DeSantis’ transfer drew widespread backlash and led to lawsuits, questions about the contract and his reported use of migrant labor to coordinate the hassle, and a Texas criminal investigation over whether or not the migrants had been misled.
Zoë Richards contributed.