SW News: In the latest battle between Florida's Governor Ron DeSantis and multinational company Disney, the head of the state is asking that a judge be disqualified from the First Amendment lawsuit filed against him. According to the governor, the judge's earlier comments in other instances have called into question his objectivity in the state's attempts to take over Disney World's governing body.

On Friday, an attorney for DeSantis filed a request in federal court in Tallahassee asking the court to bar Chief US District Judge Mark Walker from presiding over the lawsuit Disney brought last month. The lawsuit states that DeSantis and his appointees took over the special governing district previously run by Disney supporters. This came after the conglomerate rejected Florida's homosexual legislation, which allegedly infringed on the firm's right to free speech and the contracts clause.

The Republican governor filed his request a day after Disney's announcement that it was abandoning plans to shift 2,000 employees from Southern California to a new campus in central Florida due to an ongoing dispute with DeSantis.

According to DeSantis' motion, Justice Walker allegedly brought up the ongoing legal battle between his administration and Disney at hearings for two unrelated lawsuits.

The clash came after Disney challenged the state about the school lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity in early grades. DeSantis then took over Disney World's self-governing district through legislation and appointed a new board of supervisors.

However, the company negotiated agreements with the previous board before the new board took office, removing the new supervisors' authority over design and construction.

In response, the Florida Legislature, controlled by Republicans, passed legislation enabling the DeSantis-appointed board to revoke the contracts.

Disney brought a First Amendment complaint in federal court in Tallahassee last month against the governor of Florida and the DeSantis-appointed board. The case was then assigned to Justice Walker; whom DeSantis urged to be disqualified.