DeSantis signs law giving Florida officials power to label terrorist groups
AP News • • nation
Key Points:
- Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a law allowing state leaders to designate groups as domestic or foreign terrorist organizations and expel university students who support them.
- The designation process involves a top official at the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and approval by the governor and three other elected Florida Cabinet members.
- Designated groups can be dissolved, barred from receiving state funding, and universities must report expelled visa-holding students to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
- DeSantis defended the law as a measure to protect Floridians and state resources, citing previous designations of the Council on American-Islamic Relations and the Muslim Brotherhood as terrorist organizations.
- Free speech advocates, including PEN America, criticize the law for vague language that could suppress educational programs and student protests, potentially chilling education statewide.
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