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By Adeola Adeosun
Weekend Night Editor
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Republican Governor Ron DeSantis on Monday signed HB 1471, a sweeping bill that bars Florida courts from applying foreign or religious laws—including Sharia law—when doing so would violate constitutional rights.
The legislation also expands Florida's independent authority to designate and defund what it deems domestic terrorist organizations, marking what DeSantis called the "strongest action" any state has taken against both overt and "stealth jihad."
The signing drew immediate pushback from civil liberties advocates. The Council on American-Islamic Relations-Florida (CAIR) in a press release called the law "draconian" and warned it threatens free speech, religious freedom and due process. Executive Director Hiba Rahim said the bill appeared "agenda-driven" from the start, adding that reports the governor's office directly wrote the legislation raised serious concerns on erosion of the separation of powers.
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Why It Matters
Monday's signing is the culmination of a monthslong push at both the federal and state level to crack down on Muslim Brotherhood-linked organizations.
In December, President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing the secretaries of State and Treasury to assess whether certain Muslim Brotherhood chapters—including those in Egypt, Lebanon and Jordan—warranted designation as foreign terrorist organizations, with a 45-day window to act if they did so.
That same month, DeSantis moved in parallel, announcing via X that Florida was unilaterally designating the Muslim Brotherhood and CAIR as "foreign terrorist organizations" and directing state agencies to cut off support to anyone backing them. A federal court blocked that order in March after a coalition including the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) and the Muslim Legal Fund of America challenged it as unconstitutional.
In January, the U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control, in coordination with the State Department, followed through on Trump's directive—designating the Egyptian and Jordanian branches of the Muslim Brotherhood as Specially Designated Global Terrorists for their material support of Hamas.
HB 1471 now attempts to make Florida's approach permanent through statute, ensuring those federal designations can be enforced at the state level while also giving Florida its own independent designation authority.
How It Changes Florida Courts
At its core, the bill creates a formal statutory firewall preventing Florida courts from recognizing or enforcing foreign judgments, contracts or legal provisions that conflict with constitutional protections. That explicitly includes Sharia law, which Florida Lieutenant Governor Jay Collins—a retired Green Beret—called a political code incompatible with the U.S. Constitution.
DeSantis signed the bill at a Tampa news conference alongside Collins and legislative leaders, singling out the Muslim Brotherhood and CAIR as organizations the legislation is designed to counter. He cited a recent incident at Old Dominion University as a catalyst for the state's approach.
New Powers Over Terrorism Designations
Beyond the courts, HB 1471 gives Florida sweeping new counterterrorism authority, according to the governor's office. Key provisions include authorizing the Florida Department of Law Enforcement's chief of domestic security to recommend domestic terrorist organization designations and enforcing them at the state level; impose felony penalties for providing material support—including money, weapons or military training—to designated groups; bar public universities from using state funds to promote terrorism or jihad; and prohibit private schools receiving state vouchers from affiliating with students or organizations that promote extralegal violence.
Collins framed the legislation as a generational defense of Western values. "I have personally seen women murdered for wanting an education," he said, drawing on his service in Afghanistan and Iraq. "Today, Florida says no — not now, not ever," according to Florida Voice News.
Muslim Civil Rights Group Calls Bill a 'Police State' Power Grab
CAIR condemned the signing swiftly and sharply, calling HB 1471 an attempt to establish a "police state" in violation of constitutional rights, according to a press release from the organization. The group announced a news conference for noon Tuesday ET at its Tampa and Sunrise offices, with a livestream available on its Instagram page.
Rahim pointed to what she described as a pattern of politically motivated targeting, noting that a coalition including the Southern Poverty Law Center and Muslim Legal Fund of America won a federal injunction in March against a prior DeSantis executive order that had labeled CAIR a terrorist organization without legal authority or evidence.
At the national level, CAIR recently designated the congressional "Sharia-Free America Caucus" as an anti-Muslim hate group—the first time in the organization's 32-year history it has made such a designation against a congressional caucus.
What People Are Saying
DeSantis: "This legislation will help the state of Florida protect you, your tax dollars, and things that should not be happening in the United States of America."
State Representative Hillary Cassel, bill sponsor: "I was proud to sponsor this legislation — reinforcing the supremacy of the U.S. Constitution and Florida law while ensuring taxpayer dollars are never used to support institutions tied to terrorist organizations."
Collins, via X: "Great to be with Governor Ron DeSantis today as he signed HB 1471 to protect the laws of Florida and the United States against radical ideologies like Sharia law. We have our own laws in Florida. We won’t accept foreign influence meant to erode our legal system and way of life."
Rahim: "This expanded and deeply-flawed framework can attack any organization that dares to dissent. As Floridians, together, we'll watch how this unprecedented law is enforced, and whether it is used or abused."
What Happens Next
Legal challenges are widely anticipated. DeSantis himself predicted at the signing, "They'll sue us like they do on everything, and we'll win on appeal," Florida Voice News reported.
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