Key facts
- Cair is suing Florida Governor Ron DeSantis over his designation of the group as a domestic terrorist organization.
- The lawsuit, filed with the ACLU and Southern Poverty Law Center, calls the designation "baseless" and seeks an emergency injunction.
- The designation stems from HB 1471, a law signed by DeSantis that went into effect July 1.
- Florida has also designated the Muslim Brotherhood and "antifa" as terrorist organizations under the new law.
- Cair argues the designation model lacks due process and could result in severe criminal and civil penalties.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (Cair), the largest Muslim civil rights organization in the United States, has filed a lawsuit against Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. The suit challenges the governor's designation of Cair as a "domestic terrorist organisation" under a new state law, HB 1471, which took effect on July 1. Cair, alongside non-profits The American Civil Liberties Union and the Southern Poverty Law Center, has labeled the designation "baseless" and argues it could lead to "immediate and irreparable harm," including the potential shuttering of its operations in the state.
The lawsuit contends that the designation model lacks due process, as it does not require the state to provide evidence or prove that the organization violated any law, nor does it mandate the inclusion of all exculpatory and inculpatory evidence. Cair stated that officials can use this broad authority to impose debilitating stigma and silence organizations through severe criminal, civil, and administrative penalties.
Florida's new law also lists the Muslim Brotherhood and "antifa" as terrorist organizations. Governor DeSantis has reportedly recommended an additional 90 groups for designation, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Sinaloa Cartel. This legislative action follows a previous attempt by DeSantis to blacklist Cair via an executive order in December, which was blocked by a federal judge earlier this year. Judge Mark Walker ruled that the governor could not unilaterally designate a major civil rights group as a terrorist organization without proper procedure.
Cair has previously faced similar designations in Florida and Texas, which prevented it from purchasing land and engaging in government contracts. These actions have often been linked to accusations, particularly from Republican figures like Senator Ted Cruz, that Cair maintains ties to the Muslim Brotherhood and seeks to impose Sharia law. Cair denies these claims, stating its funding primarily comes from public donations. The Muslim Brotherhood is designated as a terrorist group by several Middle Eastern countries, and some chapters were designated at the federal level by President Donald Trump. Critics argue that blacklisting the political movement serves to protect authoritarian regimes in the Middle East, a view echoed by Professor Nathan Brown, who stated the Muslim Brotherhood poses "none at all" threat to US national security.