Florida pauses plan to label CAIR a terrorist organization after lawsuit

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Florida officials are pausing their plan to designate the Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR, and other groups as terrorist organizations under a new state law.

What we know:

The development comes amid a federal lawsuit filed after Gov. Ron DeSantis announced earlier this month that his administration would move to use new state authority to label several organizations as terrorist groups.

According to a court filing cited by the ACLU, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement now intends to issue regulations to implement the law, and "no designation will be made before the regulations are finalized."

Attorneys for DeSantis and other state officials told the court they could not yet provide a timeline for when those regulations will be complete. Both sides are expected to update the court by July 22.

Florida terrorist law pause

The backstory:

On July 1, DeSantis announced Florida’s intent to designate CAIR, the Muslim Brotherhood, Antifa and more than 90 federally designated foreign terrorist organizations, including several cartels, under the new law.

"The law takes effect on July 1st today, and so we are not going to waste any time," DeSantis said at the time. "We're gonna move forward and we're gonna make sure that we're very robust in doing this."

The governor’s office said the law is aimed at preventing taxpayer money, government contracts and other public support from going to organizations the state says support terrorism.

Upon approval by the Florida Cabinet, the designations could carry significant consequences. State and local governments would be barred from providing taxpayer funding, contracts or other public support to designated organizations. Public schools, colleges and universities would also be prohibited from using public resources to support or promote them.

Organizations designated under the law could also be subject to dissolution, and people who knowingly provide material support could face criminal penalties.

CAIR lawsuit

The other side:

CAIR and CAIR Florida sued the governor and other state officials, arguing the law violates constitutional protections and could be used to punish protected speech, religious freedom and civil rights advocacy.

The groups are represented by the ACLU, the ACLU of Florida, the Southern Poverty Law Center and private law firms.

"In the United States, CAIR and all nonprofits have the right to criticize the government, protect religious freedom and advocate for the causes they believe in," Hina Shamsi, director of the ACLU’s National Security Project, said.

The lawsuit argues the state’s designation process is too broad, lacks transparency and could allow officials to brand organizations as security threats before they receive meaningful review. CAIR has denied allegations that it supports terrorism and has said the governor’s claims are based on old and disputed accusations.

Court deadline

What's next:

The pause does not mean Florida is dropping the effort. For now, state officials say the process is on hold until FDLE finalizes regulations for carrying out the new law. The next court update is expected by July 22.

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