Gov. Ron DeSantis must turn over records in connection with migrant flights his administration chartered from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts, a Florida judge ruled Tuesday, saying it failed to comply with the state’s public records law after an open government group sued for the information.
Circuit Judge J. Lee Marsh ordered the administration to provide the records sought by the group, the Florida Center for Government Accountability, within the next 20 days, said Michael Barfield, the organization’s director of public access.
DeSantis’ office did not return NBC News’s request for comment on the judge’s ruling.
The Florida Center for Government Accountability filed its lawsuit earlier this month, alleging the delay by the governor’s office to turn over records is unjustified.
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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 told NBC News that the group views the ruling as “an important victory for the public’s right to know.”
“This is a very important signal to DeSantis that he is not immune from the law and he must comply with that,” Barfield said.
Last month, DeSantis chartered planes carrying about 50 migrants from San Antonio to Marta’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’ move drew widespread backlash and led to lawsuits, questions about the contract and DeSantis’ reported use of migrant labor to coordinate the effort, and a Texas criminal investigation over whether the migrants were misled.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
