Muslim civil rights group CAIR shuts down in Florida as state terror label takes effect

On Thursday, Nov. 5, the Florida chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) suspended its operations across the state. CAIR is a national Muslim civil rights and advocacy group. It closed the same day that Florida's label calling it a domestic terrorist organization took effect ¹²³.

The night before, Chief U.S. District Judge Allen C. Winsor of the Northern District of Florida turned down the group's emergency request to block the label ¹². He found that CAIR and CAIR-Florida were unlikely to win their due process and First Amendment claims at this early stage of the case ¹².

The group is not waiting for the lawsuit to play out. Its national website now blocks visitors from Florida and says it is not taking donations from the state, according to the Tallahassee Democrat ⁴. A sign at the chapter's office in Temple Terrace announces the suspension and blames Gov. Ron DeSantis and other state officials ⁴.

Nevertheless, we are heartbroken that we have no choice but to close our doors to protect our staff

What the Florida law allows

The label comes from HB 1471, a state law that took effect in July ⁴. Under it, five state officials can designate a U.S. group as a terrorist organization: the governor, three Cabinet members and the commissioner of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE). No criminal charges or jury trial are required ¹².

The consequences are broad. State agencies, local governments and public school districts may not spend state money to support a designated group, and public schools face limits on campus programs that "promote" one ². Colleges must report certain students on visas who promote a designated group, and those students can be expelled ².

The ACLU of Florida says violations can carry penalties of up to life in prison ¹.

Gov. DeSantis and the Florida Cabinet voted on Sept. 29 to label CAIR and CAIR-Florida as domestic terrorist organizations ²³. The designations took effect on Nov. 5, about 30 days after the group was given its designation notice by the state ⁴.

What the judge did and did not decide

Judge Winsor wrote that Florida's system was "novel—and perhaps unprecedented." But he found the groups had not shown that the state's appeal procedures were constitutionally inadequate ¹. He treated the label as a civil penalty, not a criminal punishment ¹.

He did give CAIR one narrow win. State prosecutors may not use the law against CAIR, CAIR-Florida, their employees or outside lawyers for providing legal services to the groups ¹². "The State has no meaningful interest in denying Plaintiffs' legal counsel," he wrote ¹.

The ruling does not settle the case or make any factual findings about the state's accusations ¹.

The state's case and CAIR's denial

Florida officials say CAIR operates as a front for Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood. CAIR denies it ². In court, Charles Cooper, a lawyer for the state, described CAIR as "Hamas' largest charitable front" ⁴.

DeSantis welcomed the ruling. Attorney General James Uthmeier also posted on X ²:

Great win by our Solicitor General's office and for the people of Florida!

The ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union), the ACLU of Florida, the Southern Poverty Law Center and the law firm Bondurant Mixson & Elmore represent CAIR ¹. They filed suit in July ². Ashley Gorski, senior counsel at the ACLU's National Security Project, criticized the ruling ².

No nonprofit engaged in First Amendment-protected activity should face this kind of harm without due process.

A second try after an earlier court loss

This is Florida's second attempt to brand CAIR. In December 2025, DeSantis issued an executive order labeling CAIR a "terrorist organization" ⁵. A federal judge temporarily blocked that order in March 2026 ². The state's appeal of that ruling is still pending ⁴.

In that earlier case, U.S. District Judge Mark Walker wrote that the governor was "using an executive office to make a political statement at the expense of others' constitutional rights" ⁴.

Democrats in Tallahassee warned about this kind of power while the bill was being debated. In February, Rep. Anna Eskamani, an Orlando Democrat, said the legislation "weaponizes state agencies to basically pick their political enemies" ⁵.

My concern is once you have a label, it sticks,

That matters well beyond one Muslim advocacy group. The judge declined to treat the designation as criminal punishment rather than a civil remedy. If that finding holds on appeal, any future set of officials could use the same tool against groups they oppose. CAIR and CAIR-Florida say they will appeal ¹.

The Record

1. Feb 2, 2026CAIR-Florida holds its annual Muslim Day at the Capitol while lawmakers weigh HB 1471. Rep. Anna Eskamani warns the bill lets the state pick its political enemies ⁵.
2. Sep 29, 2026Gov. DeSantis and the Florida Cabinet vote to label CAIR and CAIR-Florida terrorist organizations ²³.
3. Oct 6, 2026The designations are published in the Florida Administrative Register and take effect 30 days later ³.
4. Nov 4, 2026Chief U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor refuses to block the label but bars prosecutions over legal services for CAIR ¹³.
5. Nov 5, 2026The label takes effect, CAIR suspends its Florida operations, and the ACLU says it will appeal ¹².

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<h2>Muslim civil rights group CAIR shuts down in Florida as state terror label takes effect</h2> <p><em>By The GOP Files National Desk. This article first appeared on <a href="https://thegopfiles.com/story/muslim-civil-rights-group-cair-shuts-down-in-florida-as-state-terror-label-takes">The GOP Files</a> on Thursday, November 5, 2026.</em></p> <p>On Thursday, Nov. 5, the Florida chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) suspended its operations across the state. CAIR is a national Muslim civil rights and advocacy group. It closed the same day that Florida&#39;s label calling it a domestic terrorist organization took effect .</p> <p>The night before, Chief U.S. District Judge Allen C. Winsor of the Northern District of Florida turned down the group&#39;s emergency request to block the label . He found that CAIR and CAIR-Florida were unlikely to win their due process and First Amendment claims at this early stage of the case .</p> <p>The group is not waiting for the lawsuit to play out. Its national website now blocks visitors from Florida and says it is not taking donations from the state, according to the Tallahassee Democrat . A sign at the chapter&#39;s office in Temple Terrace announces the suspension and blames Gov. Ron DeSantis and other state officials .</p> <blockquote><p>Nevertheless, we are heartbroken that we have no choice but to close our doors to protect our staff</p><p>&mdash; Hiba Rahim, executive director, CAIR-Florida</p></blockquote> <h2>What the Florida law allows</h2> <p>The label comes from HB 1471, a state law that took effect in July . Under it, five state officials can designate a U.S. group as a terrorist organization: the governor, three Cabinet members and the commissioner of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE). No criminal charges or jury trial are required .</p> <p>The consequences are broad. State agencies, local governments and public school districts may not spend state money to support a designated group, and public schools face limits on campus programs that &quot;promote&quot; one . Colleges must report certain students on visas who promote a designated group, and those students can be expelled .</p> <p>The ACLU of Florida says violations can carry penalties of up to life in prison .</p> <p>Gov. DeSantis and the Florida Cabinet voted on Sept. 29 to label CAIR and CAIR-Florida as domestic terrorist organizations . The designations took effect on Nov. 5, about 30 days after the group was given its designation notice by the state .</p> <h2>What the judge did and did not decide</h2> <p>Judge Winsor wrote that Florida&#39;s system was &quot;novel—and perhaps unprecedented.&quot; But he found the groups had not shown that the state&#39;s appeal procedures were constitutionally inadequate . He treated the label as a civil penalty, not a criminal punishment .</p> <p>He did give CAIR one narrow win. State prosecutors may not use the law against CAIR, CAIR-Florida, their employees or outside lawyers for providing legal services to the groups . &quot;The State has no meaningful interest in denying Plaintiffs&#39; legal counsel,&quot; he wrote .</p> <p>The ruling does not settle the case or make any factual findings about the state&#39;s accusations .</p> <h2>The state&#39;s case and CAIR&#39;s denial</h2> <p>Florida officials say CAIR operates as a front for Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood. CAIR denies it . In court, Charles Cooper, a lawyer for the state, described CAIR as &quot;Hamas&#39; largest charitable front&quot; .</p> <p>DeSantis welcomed the ruling. Attorney General James Uthmeier also posted on X :</p> <blockquote><p>Great win by our Solicitor General&#39;s office and for the people of Florida!</p><p>&mdash; James Uthmeier, Florida attorney general, R</p></blockquote> <p>The ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union), the ACLU of Florida, the Southern Poverty Law Center and the law firm Bondurant Mixson &amp; Elmore represent CAIR . They filed suit in July . Ashley Gorski, senior counsel at the ACLU&#39;s National Security Project, criticized the ruling .</p> <blockquote><p>No nonprofit engaged in First Amendment-protected activity should face this kind of harm without due process.</p><p>&mdash; Daniel Tilley, legal director, ACLU of Florida</p></blockquote> <h2>A second try after an earlier court loss</h2> <p>This is Florida&#39;s second attempt to brand CAIR. In December 2025, DeSantis issued an executive order labeling CAIR a &quot;terrorist organization&quot; . A federal judge temporarily blocked that order in March 2026 . The state&#39;s appeal of that ruling is still pending .</p> <p>In that earlier case, U.S. District Judge Mark Walker wrote that the governor was &quot;using an executive office to make a political statement at the expense of others&#39; constitutional rights&quot; .</p> <p>Democrats in Tallahassee warned about this kind of power while the bill was being debated. In February, Rep. Anna Eskamani, an Orlando Democrat, said the legislation &quot;weaponizes state agencies to basically pick their political enemies&quot; .</p> <blockquote><p>My concern is once you have a label, it sticks,</p><p>&mdash; Anna Eskamani, state representative, D-Orlando</p></blockquote> <p>That matters well beyond one Muslim advocacy group. The judge declined to treat the designation as criminal punishment rather than a civil remedy. If that finding holds on appeal, any future set of officials could use the same tool against groups they oppose. CAIR and CAIR-Florida say they will appeal .</p> <p><em>Read the original, with every source linked, at <a href="https://thegopfiles.com/story/muslim-civil-rights-group-cair-shuts-down-in-florida-as-state-terror-label-takes">thegopfiles.com</a>. Republished under The GOP Files' <a href="https://thegopfiles.com/republish">free republishing terms</a>.</em></p> <img src="https://thegopfiles.com/api/rp/muslim-civil-rights-group-cair-shuts-down-in-florida-as-state-terror-label-takes.gif" alt="" width="1" height="1" style="border:0;width:1px;height:1px">

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Sources

1. ACLU of Florida, “CAIR and CAIR-Florida Will Appeal Federal Court Decision Denying Relief from Florida's Unconstitutional "Terrorist" Designation Regime” (2026-11-05). aclufl.org/press-releases/cair-and-cair-florida-will-appeal-
2. Florida Phoenix (via Yahoo News), “CAIR ends operations in Florida as domestic terrorist designation takes effect” (2026-11-05). yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/cair-ends-operations-florid
3. JNS, “CAIR suspends Florida operations following state domestic terror designation” (2026-11-05). jns.org/news/u-s-news/cair-suspends-florida-operations-follo
4. Tallahassee Democrat (via Yahoo News), “Muslim group shutting down in Florida amid 'terror' designation” (2026-11-04). yahoo.com/news/us/articles/muslim-group-shutting-down-florid
5. Florida Phoenix (via WLRN), “CAIR Florida comes to the Capitol, despite 'terrorist' designation by Gov. DeSantis” (2026-02-03). wlrn.org/government-politics/2026-02-03/cair-florida-comes-t

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