Florida Stuns Nation: DeSantis Slaps CAIR With Terror Label After Texas Breaks Seal
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Monday designated the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and the Muslim Brotherhood as “foreign terrorist organizations” under state authority, directing Florida agencies to halt any support or resources to individuals or groups aligned with either organization. The move makes Florida the second state in the country to issue such a designation in recent weeks, following a similar action by Texas Governor Greg Abbott last month.
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DeSantis announced the decision in a public statement, saying the designation takes effect immediately. The governor instructed state departments and law-enforcement agencies to adopt policies consistent with the new classification. The full executive directive has not yet been released.
The designation mirrors a November 18 proclamation by Governor Abbott, who labeled CAIR and the Muslim Brotherhood as “foreign terrorist organizations” and “transnational criminal organizations” under Texas law. Abbott’s order also barred the organizations and any affiliated entities from purchasing or acquiring land in the state, and directed Texas law enforcement to initiate investigations into their activities.
CAIR, a national Muslim civil-rights and advocacy group established in 1994, has denied any ties to terrorism. In response to the Texas proclamation, CAIR and the Muslim Legal Fund of America filed a federal lawsuit on November 20, arguing that Abbott’s designation is unconstitutional and defamatory. No lawsuit has yet been announced in Florida, though legal experts expect similar challenges.
Neither CAIR nor the Muslim Brotherhood is designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the U.S. Department of State, the federal body responsible for maintaining the official list of foreign terrorist groups under federal law.
State-level terror designations are relatively rare, and the Texas and Florida actions mark the first time two states have independently labeled CAIR as a terrorist entity. Both governors cited security concerns in their announcements, though neither state has publicly released evidence underpinning the designation.
Civil-rights organizations have raised concerns about the legality of state-level terror classifications, noting that federal law grants designation authority exclusively to the federal government. Abbott’s proclamation is now the subject of ongoing litigation, and Florida’s decision is expected to prompt additional scrutiny.
It remains unclear whether other states intend to take similar action. For now, Texas and Florida constitute the only states to formally classify CAIR and the Muslim Brotherhood as terrorist organizations under state law.