Florida governor declares Muslim civil rights group a terrorist organization

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday designated one of the largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy groups in the U.S. a “foreign terrorist organization,” following a similar step by Texas last month.

The directive against the Council on American-Islamic Relations comes in an executive order DeSantis posted on the social media site X. It also gives the same label to the Muslim Brotherhood.

Neither CAIR nor the Muslim Brotherhood is designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S. government.

The order instructs Florida agencies to prevent the two groups and those who have provided them material support from receiving contracts, employment and funds from a state executive or cabinet agency.

In an emailed statement, CAIR and its Florida chapter said the organization plans to sue DeSantis in response to what it called an “unconstitutional” and “defamatory” proclamation.

Founded in 1994, CAIR has 25 chapters around the country.

CAIR last month asked a federal judge to strike down Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s proclamation, saying in a lawsuit that it was “not only contrary to the United States Constitution, but finds no support in any Texas law.”

The Muslim Brotherhood was established in Egypt nearly a century ago and has branches around the world. Its leaders say it renounced violence decades ago and seeks to set up Islamic rule through elections and other peaceful means. Critics, including autocratic governments across the Middle East region, view it as a threat.