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By James Bickerton
News Reporter
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The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and its Florida chapter have suspended operations in the state after they were formally designated a “domestic terrorist” group by authorities, a move that took effect on Thursday.
CAIR, a Muslim advocacy group operating across the United States, strongly denies having any terrorist affiliations and is challenging the ban in court arguing it violates their First Amendment rights and the law on due process.
Its legal bid is being supported by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), a civil rights nonprofit.
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Newsweek contacted Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, CAIR and the ACLU for comment on Friday by email.
CAIR Chapters
CAIR currently has at least one chapter in 19 states, along with a national headquarters in Washington.
The states with at least one chapter are: Alabama, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas and Washington.
Each chapter is run by its own executive director and board of directors. California, Texas, Ohio and Pennsylvania have more than one chapter.
California has four covering the greater Los Angeles area, Sacramento Valley/Central California, San Diago and the San Francisco Bay Area. In Texas, there are branches for Houston, Austin and Dallas-Fort Worth. Ohio has branches in Columbus, Cincinnati and Cleveland, while Pennsylvania's are in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.
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Florida Ban
Governor DeSantis signed Executive Order 25-244 in December 2025, designating CAIR and the Muslim Brotherhood as terrorist organizations. However, its implementation was blocked in March by a preliminary injunction from a federal judge.
In April, DeSantis signed into law Florida House Bill 1471, giving him and other state officials the power to designate groups as “terrorist” organizations under certain criteria.
In July, DeSantis used the new law to again designate CAIR and the Muslim Brotherhood, along with the left-wing movement antifa, as terrorist organizations.
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“Today, we are officially designating terrorist organizations under Florida law," he said. "In addition to CAIR and the Muslim Brotherhood, we are adding antifa to the list—along with more than 90 Foreign Terrorist Organizations, including cartels.”
The ban went into effect on Thursday. In a statement published by the ACLU, Edward Ahmed Mitchell, CAIR’s national deputy director, said: “Today, for the first time in over twenty years, Florida Muslims cannot call their community’s leading civil rights organization for help if they experience a hate crime at their mosque, illegal discrimination in the workplace, violent bullying in school, or any other acts of bigotry.
“The Constitution’s guarantees of free speech and due process apply to every inch of our nation, including Florida. The unprecedented notion that Governor DeSantis has the power to punish an American civil rights organization for its speech and unilaterally force the closure of its doors without due process is an affront to the Constitution.”
Hiba Rahim, executive director of CAIR-Florida, added: “Florida’s new law has profoundly disturbing parallels to authoritarian states, in which political leaders silence and punish dissent without due process.”
Court Battle
A last-ditch legal bid to prevent CAIR’s terrorist designation from taking effect failed on Wednesday night with a ruling from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida.
Judge Allen Winsor ruled that the case, brought by CAIR and supported by the ACLU and SPLC, was unlikely to succeed at this stage on its merits but gave legal protection to CAIR officials and their lawyers involved in it.
In court, CAIR and the other plaintiffs argued that the ban was a violation of the First Amendment and constitutional protections regarding due process. They have announced plans to appeal Wednesday’s ruling.
Responding to the decision on X, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, a Republican, wrote: “This morning, a federal court upheld Florida’s Domestic Terrorist Organization law and rejected CAIR’s attempt to stop the designations. Great win by our Solicitor General's office and for the people of Florida!”
As a result of the court ruling, the ban went ahead and CAIR and CAIR Florida announced that they had halted activities in the state effective Thursday.
Responding to the ruling, Ashley Gorski, a lawyer with ACLU’s National Security Project, said: “Today’s ruling is deeply disappointing and we are appealing it. Our clients’ challenge to Governor DeSantis’ grave abuse of authority continues.
“Today’s decision upholds state officials’ sweeping power to punish American organizations they brand as ‘terrorist,’ without due process and in violation of the First Amendment.”
On X on Thursday, Uthmeier wrote: “CAIR has officially suspended operations in Florida.” Republican Florida Representative Randy Fine, who secured reelection on Tuesday, shared the post and added: “Florida will fight Muslim terror without apology. I will continue to fight it nationally.”
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Rebecca Flood and Dave Siminoff.
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