CAIR sues DeSantis over 'foreign terrorist' order
Source: Politico
12/16/2025 01:26 PM EST
The Council on American-Islamic Relations late Monday sued Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to reverse an executive order he signed last week branding the group as a “terrorist organization.” The plaintiffs accuse DeSantis of violating the Constitution and cast their lawsuit, which was filed in federal court, as a defense of Americans’ First Amendment rights.
“This is still America, where due process, free speech and other rights guaranteed by the Constitution matter,” CAIR Litigation Director Lena Masri said in a statement alongside the lawsuit. “We look forward to once again protecting the rights of all Americans — liberal and conservative, religious and secular — to engage in activism without fear of illegal government retaliation.”
DeSantis posted the executive order on X on Dec. 8, writing that CAIR was “founded by persons connected to the Muslim Brotherhood” and that individuals associated with CAIR had been convicted for “conspiring to provide” support for designated terrorist organizations. The order blocks CAIR from receiving contracts, funding or employment from state and local agencies.
In response to a request for comment, a spokesperson for DeSantis pointed to comments made by the governor on X, including one in which he wrote that members of the Florida state Legislature were crafting legislation “to stop the creep of Sharia law, and I hope that they codify these protections for Floridians against CAIR and the Muslim Brotherhood in their legislation.”
Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2025/12/16/cair-desantis-lawsuit-foreign-terrorist-00692952
Link to CAIR PRESS RELEASE - CAIR LDF, MLFA, SPLC and Akeel & Valentine Sue Florida Governor Ron DeSantis Over ‘Blatantly Unconstitutional’ Executive Order
Link to SUIT (PDF) - https://www.cair.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Corrected-complaint-CAIR-v-DeSantis-1.pdf