DeSantis announces plans to use new state law to target dozens of alleged terrorist groups

Key Points:

• Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced plans to use a new state law, HB 1471, to designate over 90 groups, including the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the Muslim Brotherhood, and Antifa, as terrorist organizations, pending approval by the Florida Cabinet.
• HB 1471, effective as of Wednesday, empowers the Chief of Domestic Security to identify terrorist groups, with final designations subject to majority approval by the governor and Cabinet, and includes provisions to deny public support and impose criminal penalties for supporting these groups.
• The law also prevents foreign or religious legal codes from superseding U.S. or Florida constitutional law in state courts and targets both domestic and foreign organizations, including criminal cartels and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
• CAIR condemned the designation, asserting it engages in no terrorist activity and vowing to challenge the move legally, with civil liberties groups arguing the designations violate First Amendment rights and are politically motivated.
• The Florida designations differ from federal foreign terrorist organization designations and are limited to state law enforcement and funding restrictions.