CAIR Vows Federal Lawsuit Against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis After ‘Foreign Terrorist Organization’ Designation

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) announced Tuesday night that it will file a federal lawsuit against Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and the state of Florida within days, calling his new executive order labeling CAIR and the Muslim Brotherhood “foreign terrorist organizations” unconstitutional, defamatory, and a blatant violation of the First Amendment.

The explosive legal showdown comes less than 48 hours after DeSantis signed Executive Order 25-289 on Monday, December 8, which immediately designates both entities as terrorist groups inside Florida. The order bans state agencies from contracting with or providing any benefits to CAIR, directs the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) and Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles to “prevent unlawful activities” by the groups, and strips any individual or business offering “material support” to CAIR of eligibility for state contracts or funds.

At a fiery press conference in Tampa Tuesday afternoon, CAIR-Florida Interim Executive Director Hiba Rahim declared: “This is not law. This is a political stunt designed to silence American Muslims who dare criticize U.S. and Florida’s unconditional support for Israel. Governor DeSantis has turned Florida into a laboratory for Islamophobia. We will see him in federal court, and we will win.”

Rahim pointed to DeSantis’ first cabinet meeting held in Jerusalem in 2019 and Florida’s $500 million+ investment in Israel bonds as evidence of an “Israel First” agenda. “He is shredding the Constitution to appease a foreign government,” she said.

Governor DeSantis fired back Tuesday evening at a North Miami Beach event, openly welcoming the lawsuit: “Bring it on. A federal lawsuit gives Florida full discovery rights. We’ll finally get to subpoena CAIR’s financial records, their donors, their communications. The discovery phase is going to be very illuminating for the people of Florida and America.”

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier echoed the governor on X: “Discovery in this case will expose everything. Let’s roll.”

The Florida move mirrors Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s November 2025 executive order, which CAIR is already challenging in federal court in Austin. Legal experts say both cases will likely hinge on whether a state can unilaterally designate an organization as terrorist when neither CAIR nor the Muslim Brotherhood appears on the U.S. State Department’s Foreign Terrorist Organization list.

CAIR, founded in 1994, has repeatedly condemned terrorism, including Hamas attacks on October 7, 2023, and has won multiple Supreme Court cases defending religious freedom and free speech. The group says it has over 100,000 members nationwide and estimates 500,000 Muslims live in Florida.

Critics of CAIR, including DeSantis and several Republican lawmakers, cite its early ties to the Muslim Brotherhood and allegations from the 2008 Holy Land Foundation terrorism-financing trial, where CAIR was named an unindicted co-conspirator (a designation courts later said carried no legal weight).

The White House has remained silent on the Florida order. A senior Trump administration official told reporters off-record Monday that the president’s November 2025 executive order directing a federal review of the Muslim Brotherhood designation is “still ongoing.”

Civil liberties groups, including the ACLU of Florida, condemned the order Tuesday, warning it could chill free speech and open the door to targeting other advocacy organizations. Meanwhile, pro-Israel organizations and conservative commentators praised DeSantis, with some calling for Congress to federally designate CAIR in 2026.

DeSantis told reporters he expects the Republican-controlled Florida Legislature to codify the terrorist designation into state law when the 2026 session begins in January.

CAIR says the lawsuit will seek an immediate injunction blocking enforcement of the executive order. Filing is expected as early as Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida.

The nation is now watching what could become one of the most consequential free-speech and national-security battles since 9/11.