Ron DeSantis signs Florida law to label groups as terrorists and expel student supporters

Key Points:

• Florida Governor 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 Florida Department of Law Enforcement can propose designations, which must be approved by DeSantis and three other elected Cabinet members, including the attorney general, chief financial officer, and agriculture commissioner.
• Designated terrorist organizations 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, following his previous controversial designation of the Council on American-Islamic Relations and Muslim Brotherhood as foreign terrorist organizations.
• Free speech advocates, including PEN America, criticize the law for vague language that could suppress education programs and student protests, warning it may chill academic freedom and dissent.