Florida officials pause designation of CAIR as domestic terrorist organization: SPLC

FLORIDA — Florida officials paused the designation of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) as a domestic terrorist organization under a new Florida law, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC).

A release from the law center says the development comes in a lawsuit the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), SPLC and their partners filed on behalf of CAIR and CAIR Florida after Gov. Ron DeSantis and other state officials announced they would quickly move to designate CAIR.

The SPLC issued a release on July 14 stating Florida officials will pause the designations.

"According to a court filing, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement now intends to issue regulations to implement the laws, and 'no designation will be made before the regulations are finalized," per the release.

SPLC also said lawyers for DeSantis and other defendants in the lawsuit said they could not yet provide a timeline on when these regulations would be finalized, and the parties will report again to the court by July 22.

Read the full release here.

The lawsuit comes after Gov. DeSantis held a press conference on July 1 to announce the state was preparing its first slate of designations under HB 1471, a new law that took effect July 1.

HB 1471, formally titled "Systems of Law and Terrorist Organizations," authorizes Florida’s Chief of Domestic Security to recommend domestic or foreign terrorist organization designations. Those recommendations must then be approved or rejected by the governor and Florida Cabinet by majority vote before taking effect.

The governor said the list would include the Muslim Brotherhood, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, Antifa, cartel-linked groups, Tren de Aragua, Sinaloa-related groups and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

On July 2, the Council on American–Islamic Relations (CAIR) filed an emergency motion with the court seeking a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction.

CAIR and CAIR Florida argued that designation will immediately subject them, faith-driven nonprofits, "to paralyzing restrictions on their speech and association, under the threat of severe criminal penalties," according to the court filing.

SPLC said the court denied the emergency filings, "stating it required further briefing and evidence that Florida officials were following through on their threats."

RELATED COVERAGE

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• DeSantis announces first slate of domestic terrorism designations under new law
• CAIR, CAIR Florida file emergency motion to block DeSantis terrorism designation