Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ anti-terrorism campaign is facing a lawsuit from one of its targets.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations sued Thursday to stop the Republican governor from designating the group as a “domestic terrorist organization” under HB 1471, a newly enacted law aimed at rooting out “radical terrorist ideologies” in Florida.
Representing the council are the American Civil Liberties Union and Southern Poverty Law Center, which accused the governor of violating the First and Fourteenth Amendments with the state’s “statutory scheme.”
“Gov. DeSantis does not have the power to unilaterally brand an organization with this vilifying designation and punish those who support it without due process or judicial review,” Scott McCoy, SPLC deputy legal director, said in a statement. “Denying due process and suppressing and punishing constitutionally protected speech and advocacy are clear violations of both the First and Fourteenth Amendments.”
The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida (Tallahassee Division) the day after Mr. DeSantis announced that CAIR, the Muslim Brotherhood and Antifa will be tagged as domestic terrorist organizations.
He also said he has received recommendations to designate more than 90 other groups as foreign terrorist organizations, including Cartel de Sinaloa, Tren de Aragua, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of Iran, Cartel de Noreste, and Cartel de Golfo.
“Keeping our community safe starts with identifying the threat,” Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Mark Glass said in a Wednesday statement. “The safety of our community is strengthened by that knowledge every day, and reinforced by the collaboration between our officers, our federal partners, and — most importantly — the people we serve.”
This isn’t the first time Mr. DeSantis has tangled with the Muslim-rights advocacy group. In December, he signed an executive order pinning the terrorist label on CAIR and the Muslim Brotherhood, which was blocked in March by a federal judge.
The governor has appealed the ruling, but said Wednesday that the state needs “more of a legal structure to be able to add teeth to these designations, and the Legislature responded, and I signed that legislation earlier this year.”
The lawsuit said the designation would have “draconian consequences” for CAIR and CAIR-Florida, including “harsh criminal and civil penalties for virtually any activity intended to further the group’s mission or interests.”
That includes employing staff, working with volunteers, fundraising, making deposits or withdrawals from bank accounts, leasing or renting property, and using social media.
“As a result of the DTO [Designated Terrorist Organization] regime, an organization that is designated simply cannot function or exist in Florida in any meaningful sense,” the lawsuit said.
Under the law, which went into effect Wednesday, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement may recommend designating organizations operating in Florida as domestic or foreign terrorist organizations provided they meet certain criteria.
The governor’s cabinet has seven days to approve or reject the proposed designations.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued a proclamation declaring CAIR and the Muslim Brotherhood as foreign terrorist organizations, a designation blasted by CAIR as “defamatory.”
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