For years, Americans have watched organizations with alleged ties to foreign terrorist networks operate on U.S. soil with stunning impunity. Shielded by nonprofit status and draped in civil rights rhetoric, these groups secured public contracts, soaked up taxpayer funding, and planted themselves on college campuses – all while Washington shrugged. Frustrating doesn’t begin to cover it.
We’ve heard plenty of tough talk from politicians promising to do something about it. Most of it evaporated the moment lawyers got involved. But one state just proved that the right leader, armed with the right legislation, can actually deliver results – not press conferences, not sternly worded letters, but real, tangible results.
From the Daily Wire:
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) suspended its operations in Florida after the state designated the group’s state chapter as a domestic terrorist organization.
Attorney General James Uthmeier (R-FL), who won his reelection bid on Tuesday – defeating challenger Jose Javier Rodriguez – confirmed the announcement on social media Thursday, when the designation took effect.
CAIR didn’t receive a slap on the wrist. They didn’t get a sternly worded memo. They closed up shop.
A governor who refused to fold
Most politicians would’ve quit after the first setback. Not Ron DeSantis. He signed an executive order last December designating CAIR and CAIR-Florida as terrorist organizations, cutting them off from public contracts, state funding, and government benefits. A federal judge blocked that order in March. So DeSantis pivoted.
He went to the Legislature. The result was HB 1471 – a law granting five Florida executive officials, including the governor and Cabinet, formal authority to designate domestic terrorist organizations. No more half-measures. The Florida Cabinet voted to designate CAIR on September 29, and a federal judge rejected CAIR’s emergency bid to stop it, finding the plaintiffs were unlikely to succeed on their First Amendment and due process claims.
“Florida is holding CAIR accountable,” DeSantis declared. He and the Cabinet maintain CAIR operates as a front for Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood. CAIR, predictably, called the designation “baseless and unconstitutional.” Courts, so far, disagree.
Twenty states should be paying attention
This matters well beyond the Sunshine State. The law doesn’t just revoke a title – it severs the financial lifeline. State agencies cannot fund designated groups. Public schools cannot spend a dime promoting them. Students attending universities on visas who promote a designated organization can be reported and expelled. That’s comprehensive.
CAIR currently runs chapters in over twenty states. Every single one of those states now has a working model sitting right there in Tallahassee, ready to be adapted.
The ACLU and Southern Poverty Law Center will fight this in court. They’ll frame it as censorship and government overreach. But a federal judge already weighed those arguments and sided with Florida. That’s not nothing.
DeSantis got knocked down in March and came back with a stronger hand by November. Other governors should be taking notes – detailed ones.
Key Takeaways
- Florida designated CAIR a domestic terrorist organization, and CAIR shut down entirely.
- DeSantis built a legislative blueprint other conservative states can adopt immediately.
- A federal judge validated Florida’s approach, rejecting CAIR’s constitutional challenges.
- CAIR operates in twenty-plus states – the template is ready for replication nationwide.
Sources: Daily Wire, Florida Phoenix
