A leading Muslim civil rights organization has filed a massive federal lawsuit against Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, claiming his recent order designating them as a “foreign terrorist organization” is unconstitutional and usurps the power of the federal government, as per The Guardian. The Council on American-Islamic Relations, widely known as CAIR, filed the suit alongside its state affiliate, CAIR-Florida.
The civil rights group is asking a federal judge in Tallahassee to immediately declare the governor’s directive unlawful and prevent it from being enforced. The core legal challenge is focused on who actually gets to decide which groups are terrorists. The lawsuit states that Governor DeSantis has completely overstepped his bounds, arguing, “He has usurped the exclusive authority of the federal government to identify and designate terrorist organizations by baselessly declaring CAIR a terrorist organization.”
This is awful for any organization, especially one that focuses on legal actions, advocacy, and educational outreach across its more than 20 chapters nationwide. The governor’s order, issued last week, doesn’t just slap a label on them. It instructs all Florida agencies to prevent CAIR and anyone who has provided them with material support from receiving state contracts, employment, or any funds from a state executive or cabinet agency.
DeSantis seems unbothered still, but that just may be a show
Governor DeSantis didn’t seem too bothered by the legal challenge. When his press secretary, Molly Best, was reached for comment, she referred to his recent social media posts on the subject. DeSantis said in one post that he looks forward to a trial. He added a revealing comment, too: “I look forward to discovery – especially the CAIR finances. Should be illuminating!”
CAIR claims the order is retaliation. The organization said it was targeted by DeSantis for defending free speech rights in cases where state officials had attempted to punish or silence people who expressed support for Palestinian human rights. It seems like the organization is being targeted for its political advocacy, which is a major red flag if you care about free speech protections.
The governor’s order also applied the same “foreign terrorist” label to the Muslim Brotherhood, a pan-Arab Islamist political movement. It is important to note that President Trump last month issued his own executive order that sets in motion a process to designate certain chapters of the Muslim Brotherhood as a foreign terrorist organization. DeSantis, however, seems to have skipped the process and gone straight to the designation.
This isn’t just a Florida problem, either. Governor Greg Abbott in Texas has issued a similar proclamation in his state. CAIR is already fighting that one, too. Last month, CAIR asked a federal judge to strike down Abbott’s proclamation, arguing in their lawsuit that it was “not only contrary to the United States Constitution, but finds no support in any Texas law.”
The stakes are huge, particularly in Florida, which has an estimated 500,000 Muslim residents. When a state governor tries to unilaterally designate major organizations as terrorist groups, you’re looking at a serious constitutional showdown over states’ rights versus federal authority. The outcome of this case will set a massive precedent for just how far state executives can go in defining national security threats.
Published: Dec 17, 2025 02:30 pm