Disney has the absolute right to express its opposition in any number of ways. For instance, it can financially back other like-minded groups, lobby Florida lawmakers, buy advertisements, produce a show to explain why it thinks the law damages society — or just tweet out a statement.....

In his own book, DeSantis essentially admits that he retaliated against Disney in a manner that clearly violates its First Amendment rights. He does not cite any illegal behavior on the company’s part — simply its political views. “Once Disney declared war on Florida families,” DeSantis writes of Disney’s opposition to the law, “it was clear to me that the company’s executives in Burbank had not considered the lack of real leverage that Disney has over the State of Florida.” That “leverage” included the fact that Disney couldn’t easily pick up and move its massive footprint, as well as the special privileges the company enjoys by effectively running its own local government — the Reedy Creek Improvement District.....

DeSantis’ fight with Disney isn’t the first time he has violated the First Amendment. In January, a federal judge found that DeSantis violated both the federal and state Constitution when he fired a state prosecutor for speaking out about abortion rights (another aspect of the ruling is on appeal). U.S. District Judge Mark Walker also ruled DeSantis had violated the First Amendment by pushing an “anti-riot” law that unduly limited speech and assembly protections and a “Stop W.O.K.E.” bill prohibiting discussion of certain racial issues. Meanwhile a three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said his bill punishing social media companies also violated free speech protections. The list goes on and on.

If Florida is the bastion of freedom that Ron DeSantis claims it is, then the First Amendment should be sacrosanct. In DeSantis’ hands, it no longer is. That isn’t part of a “blueprint for America’s revival,” as he claims. On the contrary, it is as un-American as you can get. Fortunately, Disney seems to have sufficient legal grounds to defeat DeSantis in his latest assault on the Constitution.