Florida’s Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is poised to file a lawsuit against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) after the governor followed in the footsteps of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R), deeming the group a foreign terrorist organization.
“EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY,” DeSantis announced on December 8, “Florida is designating the Muslim Brotherhood and the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) as foreign terrorist organizations.”
“Florida agencies are hereby directed to undertake all lawful measures to prevent unlawful activities by these organizations, including denying privileges or resources to anyone providing material support,” he continued, sharing the executive order.
The executive order also designates the Muslim Brotherhood as a foreign terrorist organization.
Section 1 reads:
The Muslim Brotherhood and any chapter or subdivision thereof; the Council on American-Islamic Relations; and any other organization designated by the United States Government as a Foreign Terrorist Organization under section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U. S. C, § 1189) are hereby designated as terrorist organizations for the purpose of this Executive Order.
Fox News reported, “Hiba Rahim, the [CAIR] chapter’s deputy executive director, said during a news conference that the order was an attack rooted in conspiracy theories and compared it to historical efforts that targeted Jewish, Irish and Italian American communities.”
CAIR National and CAIR-Florida released a joint statement, making it clear that a lawsuit is forthcoming.
“From the moment Ron DeSantis took office as Florida governor, he has prioritized serving the Israeli government over serving the people of Florida. He hosted his very first official cabinet meeting in Israel,” the statement began. “He diverted millions in Florida taxpayer dollars to the Israeli government’s bonds. He threatened to shut down every Florida college’s Students for Justice in Palestine chapter, only to back off when CAIR sued him in federal court,” it went on, comparing DeSantis to Abbott and describing the Florida governor as “an Israel First politician who wants to smear and silence Americans, especially American Muslims, critical of U.S. support for Israel’s war crimes.”
The statement continued [emphasis added]:
Governor DeSantis knows full well that CAIR-Florida is an American civil rights organization that has spent decades advancing free speech, religious freedom, and justice for all, including for the Palestinian people. That’s precisely why Governor DeSantis is targeting our civil rights group with this unconstitutional and defamatory proclamation.
We look forward to defeating Governor DeSantis’ latest Israel First stunt in a court of law, where facts matter and conspiracy theories have no weight. In the meantime, we encourage all Floridians and all Americans to speak up against this latest attempt to shred the Constitution for the benefit of a foreign government.”
The pending lawsuit comes to no surprise, as CAIR also filed a federal lawsuit against Abbott last month, referring to his designation of the group as a foreign terrorist organization in the Lone Star State as “unconstitutional and defamatory.”
