A prominent Muslim civil rights organisation in the United States is suing Florida Governor Ron DeSantis after he designated the group as a terrorist organisation for a second time.
DeSantis announced on Wednesday that his administration was placing the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) on the state’s terror list.
CAIR was listed alongside the Muslim Brotherhood, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps , organisations linked to drug cartels, and Antifa – an umbrella term used to describe far-left and anarchist groups.
In a statement, CAIR, which filed a lawsuit on Thursday, said the designation subjects the group to "immediate and irreparable harm, including the shuttering of all their operations and advocacy in the state."
"Officials can brand non-profit corporations with debilitating stigma and then use an array of state authorities to immediately silence and incapacitate the organisation, its employees, its members, and a wide range of others associated with the group through extraordinarily broad and severe criminal, civil, and administrative penalties," the statement read.
In a follow-up statement to The New Arab, CAIR raised the alarm over the decision, noting it could result in them having to forcibly stop their work in Florida.
"On Friday night, the American Civil Liberties Union of FL and Southern Poverty Law Centre filed an emergency motion with the court asking them to issue a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction. Without court intervention, CAIR and CAIR Florida are in imminent danger of being forced to completely shut down their civil rights advocacy work in Florida by July 8, 2026," the organisation said.
"This designation scheme violates the organisation’s First and Fourteenth Amendment rights to free speech, due process, and right to counsel — on no basis, requiring no evidence, and with no recourse," the statement added.
CAIR is a non-profit that has long pushed for civil liberties, relying on donations to continue its work. The group works to enhance the understanding of Islam and advocates for dialogue between faith communities across the US.
In its lawsuit, CAIR is accusing the state of violating the First Amendment, which protects free speech, and the 14th Amendment’s promise of due process.
The executive order signed by DeSantis to proscribe CAIR claimed the organisation was founded by persons connected to the Muslim Brotherhood, several affiliated groups of which are already banned by the US government.
The order accuses the organisation of concealing ties with Islamist extremist groups.
"We see through Gov. DeSantis’ latest biased attempt to punish us for our views and our values," CAIR’s statement said. "We look forward to fighting these baseless attacks in court and proving once again that the Constitution is stronger than any politician’s bigotry."
Although the federal government is typically responsible for formally designating terrorist organisations, Florida created its own legal framework earlier this year, allowing the state to designate "domestic terrorist organisations" for the purposes of restricting state funding, contracts and public employment.
The legislation was passed by the Florida legislature in March and signed into law by DeSantis in April before it went into effect on 1 July. CAIR is now seeking an emergency injunction to stop the enforcement of the law.
DeSantis had already attempted to blacklist CAIR in December, but a federal judge blocked the move after the organisation filed a lawsuit . There’s been a rise in Islamophobia during more than three years of war in Gaza and the Middle East. Florida has an estimated 500,000 Muslim residents, according to CAIR.