Ron DeSantis Sends Ominous Threat To TV Station That Aired Pro-Choice Ad

The DeSantis administration continued its full-court press against Florida's ballot measure on abortion rights, just weeks away from the election.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) last week continued his full-court press against a pro-choice ballot measure that will be in front of the state’s voters in a month.

DeSantis’ administration is threatening to bring criminal charges against a local news channel that aired an advertisement in support of the abortion rights measure, Amendment 4, which would overturn DeSantis’ six-week abortion ban and restore access to the procedure until fetal viability.

The Florida governor has spent substantial amounts of taxpayer money to fight Amendment 4, including by weaponizing a nonpartisan government agency to spread misinformation and launching an unprecedented investigation into petition signatures already verified by the state, alleging a need to combat voter fraud.

Last week, Florida’s Department of Health sent a letter to a local NBC affiliate suggesting that an ad in support of Amendment 4 violates the state’s so-called “sanitary nuisance” law. The letter, first reported by journalist Jason Garcia, claims that the news channel may be committing a second-degree misdemeanor, and that its employees could be penalized with a 60-day jail sentence.

It’s unclear if the agency only sent the letter to the NBC affiliate, or to others as well. Either way, a threat like this could have a chilling effect on publicly advocating for the pro-choice measure, just weeks away from when it will be in front of voters. Florida’s Department of Health did not respond to HuffPost’s request for comment.