Chief U.S. District Judge Mark E. Walker granted a temporary restraining order against Florida’s surgeon general after the state health department threatened to bring criminal charges against broadcasters airing the ad.

The state of Florida’s crusade against Amendment 4 is unconstitutional government interference — full stop,” said Lauren Brenzel, the Floridians Protecting Freedom campaign director.

A federal judge granted a temporary restraining order Thursday to keep the Gov. Ron DeSantis administration from threatening TV stations with criminal prosecution for playing Amendment 4 abortion rights commercials.

When he abruptly resigned from his post last week, the top attorney for the Florida Department of Health suggested in a resignation letter that he was uncomfortable with decisions taken by the state agency, which days earlier had threatened to prosecute television stations over political advertisements.

Update: A federal judge temporarily barred the DeSantis administration from intimidating and coercing television stations that air ads in support of the proposed Amendment 4, which would bar government interference in abortion.

The group behind an ad in favor of enshrining abortion rights in Florida’s Constitution says the state is violating the First Amendment by threatening TV stations that ran the ad.