Ron DeSantis Responds To Disney’s Reedy Creek Lawsuit
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has publically responded to the news that The Walt Disney Company was suing him over the takeover of the Reedy Creek Improvement District.
The governor called the lawsuit “politically motivated” and accused the entertainment conglomerate of lacking accountability and transparency.
Ron DeSantis
Earlier this week, Disney filed a First Amendment lawsuit against the DeSantis administration, alleging that it was “weaponizing its power to inflict political punishment” because Disney executed their First Amendment rights.
“I don’t think the suit has merit, I think it’s political,” DeSantis told reporters in Jerusalem.
(AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
A Long, Public Battle
The battle between DeSantis and Disney began last year, when the company criticized Florida’s Parental Rights in Education bill.
In retaliation, DeSantis looked to strip Walt Disney World of the self-governing power that the resort had been granted by the establishment of the Reedy Creek Improvement District over 50 years ago.
Photo: Fox Business
After initially acquiescing to a state takeover of the special district, Disney is now arguing that the DeSantis’ policy moves have been retaliatory and a violation of the company’s First Amendment rights.
DeSantis Responds
DeSantis, for his part, says that Disney’s unchecked power in Florida was bad for the state.
Photo: CNN
“They had no transparency, no accountability, none of that, and that arrangement was not good for the state of Florida,” DeSantis said. “We did not think that that should continue, so we now have brought accountability.”
What’s Next
A judge will now have to determine whether or not Florida’s actions have violated Disney’s rights. The problem for Disney, however, is that the rights they are trying to preserve were special privileges granted to them by the state.
Photo: Greg Angel also Spectrum News 13
Whether or not such special privileges can be protected under a First Amendment suit remain to be seen.
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