DeSantis Seeks to Remove Judge From Case Over Free Speech Spats

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) wants the Eleventh Circuit to toss a federal judge off a case, claiming the jurist—who has ruled routinely against the state on First Amendment grounds—is too biased.

The unusual request was tucked into an appellate brief Monday in which the state urges the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit to reverse US District Court for the Northern District of Florida Judge Mark E. Walker’s ruling blocking DeSantis’ designation of the Council on American-Islamic Relations as a terrorist organization.

Regardless of how the appeals panel rules on the merits of the injunction, the Florida ...