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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration is urging a Leon County circuit judge to dismiss a whistleblower lawsuit filed by a former Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) chief of staff who contends he was forced to step down after reporting wrongdoing.
Attorneys for DeSantis and the law enforcement agency filed a motion last week arguing that former FDLE Chief of Staff Shane Desguin did not report the alleged wrongdoing in writing, as is required by a state whistleblower law.
The motion said the lawsuit is "wholly devoid of any allegation that Mr. Desguin submitted a written complaint to anyone before his placement on administrative leave or before his resignation. Indeed, despite baldly asserting that he, in fact, made a whistle-blower complaint, the (lawsuit) lacks any specificity as to the content of Mr. Desguin’s putative complaint and as to when, to whom, and in what manner such complaint was made. This deficiency alone is fatal to the (lawsuit)."
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Desguin filed the lawsuit on June 20, about seven months after he said he was forced to retire or be fired. Desguin alleges the DeSantis administration retaliated against him for his objections on a series of issues, such as gathering information on migrants flown to Florida by the federal government, making arrests at a neo-Nazi demonstration in Orlando, and hiring decisions by FDLE Commissioner Mark Glass.
The lawsuit said Desguin "reported and disclosed violations of rules, regulations and laws, and/or malfeasance, misfeasance and/or gross misconduct to persons both inside and outside his normal chain of command and to others having the authority to investigate, police, manage and otherwise remedy the violations." The case is assigned to Circuit Judge Jonathan Sjostrom.