walt disney co. on Wednesday South Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in the latest salvo in a long-running battle over the company’s self-governing powers in the Walt Disney World Resort area.

“A targeted campaign of government retaliation, orchestrated every step of the way by Governor DeSantis as punishment for Disney’s protected speech, now threatens Disney’s business operations, jeopardizes its economic future in the region and violates its constitutional rights,” Disney said in a statement. a complaint filed in the US District. Court for the Northern District of Florida.

DeSantis has pushed to strip Disney of its special privileges in the former Reedy Creek Improvement District after the company spoke out against Florida’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay” law, which last year banned sexual orientation and gender identity education in kindergarten up to third grade. DeSantis is pushing for the ban to be extended to all classes.

DeSantis’ office did not immediately comment on Wednesday.

The lawsuit, seeking a declaratory judgment and an injunction, comes after Florida took action to nullify amendments Disney attempted last month to preserve its ability to make land-use decisions in the vast region that forms the central parks of Disney.

DeSantis signed legislation in late February allowing the state to take control of the Reedy Creek Improvement District, which operated as Disney’s de facto private government for the area of ​​its parks and resorts.

DeSantis carefully selected members for the district’s new board and filled it with cultural conservatives and political allies only to learn that Reedy Creek’s outgoing supervisors had pre-emptively undermined the state’s power with a developmental deal, turning the Burbank Entertainment giant into received authority for at least 21 years. after the death of the last surviving descendant of King Charles III.

DeSantis and his allies moved quickly to void those changes.

“At the request of the governors, the state’s oversight board has purported to void the publicly noted and duly agreed development contracts, which had laid the foundation for billions of Disney investment dollars and thousands of jobs,” Disney’s lawsuit said. “This government action was patently retaliatory, patently anti-business and patently unconstitutional.”

“But the governor and his allies have made it clear they don’t care and won’t stop,” Disney said in the lawsuit. “The governor recently stated that his team would not only void the development agreement, as they did today, but also planned things like taxes on the hotels, road tolls, developing some of the real estate that the district owns more fun parks, and even placing a state prison next to Walt Disney World.”

Disney said it regretted suing DeSantis and other state leaders.

“But after all efforts to resolve the issue, the company has no choice but to file this lawsuit to protect its cast members, guests and local development partners from a relentless campaign to arm government power against Disney in retaliation for voicing of a political position unpopular with certain state officials,” the indictment said.

This is an evolving story.