TAMPA 鈥� For a man who鈥檚 been in his job , Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier has had the uncanny ability to generate an inordinate amount of headlines, sometimes for some quite controversial decisions.
While that could help his name recognition as he goes before the voters for the first time in his life in November, it also creates potential pitfalls.
Take the issue of guns.
A year ago, that he and Gov. Ron DeSantis believed that Florida鈥檚 2018 law banning individuals under 21 years of age from purchasing long guns was unconstitutional, so therefore he was directing his office not to defend it.
Then, in September, after the First District Court of Appeals ruled that the 1987 law banning open carry in Florida was , the AG declared that in light of that ruling he was declaring that
Most recently, he has contended that the Florida law banning convicted felons from possessing firearms is when it relates to people who have not committed a violent crime and are considered 鈥渘ondangerous.鈥� That鈥檚 despite from all 20 of Florida鈥檚 state attorneys, Republicans and Democrats alike.
鈥淲here I make these decisions not to enforce certain Florida laws, that is based on the oath I take,鈥� Uthmeier told a crowd of more that 100 people who gathered Friday at the Cuban Club in Tampa鈥檚 Ybor City for the Tampa Tiger Bay Club鈥檚 monthly meeting. 鈥淢y first oath to the people of Florida when I put up my hand is to uphold and defend our Constitution.鈥�
Uthmeier, 38, joined the governor鈥檚 office as deputy general counsel in 2019 and later became general counsel. He graduated from the University of Florida and earned his law degree from Georgetown University.
Hope Florida controversy
He was serving as DeSantis鈥� chief of staff in 2024 when he chaired a political action committee (called Keep Florida Clean) working to defeat Amendment 3, which would have legalized recreational cannabis if approved. That political committee鈥檚 work was boosted by $10 million recovered from a Medicaid overbilling settlement and routed through the Hope Florida Foundation.
Hope Florida is a community-based, state-wide welfare assistance initiative launched in 2021 by First Lady Casey DeSantis.
A grand jury was empaneled in Leon County last year to investigate possible criminal wrongdoing from that settlement. In February, the reported that the grand jury investigating the case had produced a report 鈥� called a presentment 鈥� which remains confidential while a legal challenge by the Florida Center for Government Accountability plays out.
The Miami Herald recently that Uthmeier declined to say whether he has asked a judge to keep the grand jury report secret.
During a Q&A with Tampa Tiger Bay Club members on Friday, radio talk-show host Shelley Reback asked Uthmeier whether he had objected to releasing the report and, if he hadn鈥檛, why won鈥檛 he call for its release?
Uthmeier responded that by law he鈥檚 not allowed to confirm or deny that there is grand jury report, adding that 鈥渘obody did anything wrong.鈥�
鈥淭his has been a politically motivated and media-driven farce,鈥� he said, noting that his work with Keep Florida Clean was voluntary and that he was fighting against a proposal that would have allowed 鈥渟omebody to have a constitutional right to possess 150 joints and smoke it right here.鈥�
Civil rights laws no longer valid?
On the Martin Luther King Jr. federal holiday in January, Uthmeier provocatively declared in that more than 80 state laws aimed at protecting minority employees and businesses were no longer valid, arguing they violated the 14th Amendment鈥檚 Equal Protection Clause.
鈥淔lorida laws requiring race-based state action are presumptively unconstitutional under the Fourteenth Amendment,鈥� he said in announcing the opinion.
A group of Black Democratic lawmakers the move days later in the Capitol. Some insisted Uthmeier should be suspended for his actions, since DeSantis did the same to Democratic state attorneys Andrew Warren in 2022 and Monique Worrell in 2023.
The attorney general disagreed. 鈥淭hey were picking and choosing what laws to enforce based on their own policy preferences, not based on any question of constitutionality or legality,鈥� he said of the local prosecutors.
Over the past year, Uthmeier has been aggressive in threatening to remove locally elected officials in Florida over policies on working with the federal government on immigration enforcement. Most recently, they included
鈥淚f somebody鈥檚 indicating that they鈥檙e no longer going to engage in the 287(g) process, you鈥檙e no longer going to provide support when asked, without a good justification, you鈥檙e breaking the law,鈥� he asserted, referring to the formal, voluntary partnerships between U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and local law enforcement agencies.
He added that once he provided that information to Castor, she realized, 鈥淚 better be square with the law, so she decided to pull back and changed her position.鈥�
The attorney general didn鈥檛 back down when he was accused by another audience member of being part of an administration that has shown 鈥渉ostility鈥� towards the LGBTQ youth community. Uthmeier replied that, while he respected the LGBTQ community, 鈥渢his effort to trans and mutate children has got to stop,鈥� generating a mixture of boos and cheers.
He went on to boast that his office has brought legal actions against several healthcare associations that have encouraged parents to engage in what some call gender reassignment surgery and others as gender-affirming care. And then he got personal, referring to his six-year-old daughter as a 鈥渢omboy.鈥�
鈥淪he wants to dress like her brother,鈥� he said. 鈥淪he wants to run out and kick the soccer ball. She鈥檚 not in public school but I鈥檇 be worried if she was because somebody might say, 鈥榊ou can be a man if you want to be a man,'鈥� a comment that mostly elicited boos.
UF law side gig
One question that seemed to catch the attorney general off-balance involved the revelation first reported by the that he is making $100,000 a year as an adjunct professor at the University of Florida鈥檚 Levin College of Law for two hours of instruction per week, a salary that makes him the highest-paid adjunct law professor at UF in at least a quarter century.
鈥淚 think the students get a lot out of it,鈥� he said, a sentence he repeated two more times in his response. He added the the media haven鈥檛 reported that Florida State University 鈥渇or years has had an even higher-paid position for our Solicitor General Office,鈥� a position now held by Jeffrey DeSousa.
According to the office of attorney general鈥檚 Florida鈥檚 solicitor general serves as the Richard Ervin Visiting Professor at the Florida State University College of Law. The Phoenix reached out to the FSU College of Law to confirm Uthmeier鈥檚 statement. A spokesperson said that the school was 鈥減rocessing the request.鈥�
A member of the Tampa Tiger Bay Club was happy to have Uthmeier appear in person, as the club鈥檚 previous entreaties to top GOP elected officials over the years have always been declined.
Uthmeier is expected to face former Democratic state Sen. Jos茅 Javier Rodr铆guez in the general election for attorney general in November.
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