Muslim group CAIR to appeal after federal judge upholds Florida terrorist designation
By Sofia Zarran
November 9, 2026 at 12:12 PM EST
A Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization closed its Florida office on Friday after its designation as a “domestic terrorist” organization under a new state law went into effect.
A federal judge Thursday denied a request from the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and its Florida chapter to remove the designation, which had been pursued by Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration.
“ If he can do it with CAIR, he can do it with any other organization, right?” the organization’s former communications director Wilfredo Ruiz told WLRN. “And it doesn't need to be Muslim.”
READ MORE: CAIR v. Ron DeSantis and the State of Florida: What’s behind the terror designation?
While stating they are being “forced to shut down their advocacy and operations in the state,” the group announced plans to appeal last week’s decision by U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor of the Northern District of Florida.
“[CAIR Florida] was run by professionals and we took [the litigation] serious and prepared for all possible outcomes.” Ruiz added.
He said that he and around a dozen of his other coworkers were let go after CAIR ceased its Florida operations on Friday.
Ruiz said the closure of CAIR’s Florida chapter means there is no civil rights organization representing Muslim interests in Florida. But he added the Muslim community will continue to support one another.
“ I don't see anything that indicates that this will stop the Muslim community [in Florida] from organizing from seeking the best interest in every aspect of their community,” he said.
Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Cabinet officially labeled CAIR as a domestic terrorist organization on Sept. 29, but the designation only went into effect Thursday.
“Florida officials have been relentless in seeking to silence our clients’ civil rights work and advocacy, damaging not only them but also their community,” said Ashley Gorski, senior counsel for the ACLU National Security Project, who represented the group in court.
The Southern Poverty Law Center and the ACLU are handling CAIR’s two federal lawsuits against DeSantis for what they call an “unconstitutional” and “baseless” designation of the nonprofit as terrorists.
CAIR argued the label violates their rights under the First Amendment and the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
Federal judge says groups failed
Winsor determined the groups failed to show their freedom of association had been unconstitutionally restricted or that the designation forbids any communications.
“It does not say what a (designated terrorist organization) can or cannot say,” Winsor wrote. “Plaintiffs’ real argument is that the designation will effectively shut them down, meaning they will no longer be able to speak about anything. But even if true, that does not make the designation itself (or the regime that authorizes the designation) a prior restraint on speech."
Winsor agreed with CAIR that the “overall scheme is novel --- and perhaps unprecedented.” But he added that “the Constitution does not prohibit legislation simply because it is novel.” He did prohibit the state from taking any punitive action under the law against the Muslim civil rights group, its employees or those providing legal services.
Attorney General James Uthmeier called the ruling a “great win” in a social media post on X.
CAIR was one of 90 groups labeled domestic or international terrorist organizations at the Cabinet meeting. Others on the lists include the Muslim Brotherhood, the Venezuelan crime syndicate Tren de Aragua, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of Iran, and the anti-fascism movement known as antifa.
At DeSantis’ request, the Republican-dominated Legislature approved a law in the spring allowing the designation (HB 1471).
The law allows the state’s Chief of Domestic Security– currently Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Larry Keefe– to designate a domestic or foreign terrorist organization.
It also bars a court from enforcing any provision of a religious or foreign law, with an emphasis against the Islamic code known as Sharia law, and requires a student in the Florida College System who “promotes” terrorist organizations to be expelled.
The law defines “promotion” as when a student’s actions can be “reasonably interpreted” as an actual threat of violence; disrupting the learning environment; infringing upon the rights of others; or offering “material support for or the recruitment of members for such an organization.”
Other parts of the bill bar schools affiliated with designated terrorist organizations from receiving state K-12 scholarship program money. Also, public universities and colleges are prohibited from spending state or federal funds to support programs or campus activities that promote a designated terrorist organization.
During a more than two-hour hearing on Oct. 28, Gorski said the designation will make it impossible for the nonprofit to operate and that members were prepared to resign.
Charles Cooper, an attorney representing the state, told Winsor during the hearing that CAIR serves as a “terrorist front group” for Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood, which “hides activities behind a charitable organization.”
This is DeSantis’ second attempt to place the “terrorist organization” label on the Council on American-Islamic Relations and the Muslim Brotherhood.
In March, U.S. District Court Judge Mark Walker issued a preliminary injunction against an executive order DeSantis issued in December 2025, ruling it violated CAIR’s rights by targeting and threatening those providing the organization with material support. The state has filed an appeal against the ruling.
Additional reporting by News Service of Florida.
A federal judge Thursday denied a request from the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and its Florida chapter to remove the designation, which had been pursued by Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration.
“ If he can do it with CAIR, he can do it with any other organization, right?” the organization’s former communications director Wilfredo Ruiz told WLRN. “And it doesn't need to be Muslim.”
READ MORE: CAIR v. Ron DeSantis and the State of Florida: What’s behind the terror designation?
While stating they are being “forced to shut down their advocacy and operations in the state,” the group announced plans to appeal last week’s decision by U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor of the Northern District of Florida.
“[CAIR Florida] was run by professionals and we took [the litigation] serious and prepared for all possible outcomes.” Ruiz added.
He said that he and around a dozen of his other coworkers were let go after CAIR ceased its Florida operations on Friday.
Ruiz said the closure of CAIR’s Florida chapter means there is no civil rights organization representing Muslim interests in Florida. But he added the Muslim community will continue to support one another.
“ I don't see anything that indicates that this will stop the Muslim community [in Florida] from organizing from seeking the best interest in every aspect of their community,” he said.
Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Cabinet officially labeled CAIR as a domestic terrorist organization on Sept. 29, but the designation only went into effect Thursday.
“Florida officials have been relentless in seeking to silence our clients’ civil rights work and advocacy, damaging not only them but also their community,” said Ashley Gorski, senior counsel for the ACLU National Security Project, who represented the group in court.
The Southern Poverty Law Center and the ACLU are handling CAIR’s two federal lawsuits against DeSantis for what they call an “unconstitutional” and “baseless” designation of the nonprofit as terrorists.
CAIR argued the label violates their rights under the First Amendment and the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
Federal judge says groups failed
Winsor determined the groups failed to show their freedom of association had been unconstitutionally restricted or that the designation forbids any communications.
“It does not say what a (designated terrorist organization) can or cannot say,” Winsor wrote. “Plaintiffs’ real argument is that the designation will effectively shut them down, meaning they will no longer be able to speak about anything. But even if true, that does not make the designation itself (or the regime that authorizes the designation) a prior restraint on speech."
Winsor agreed with CAIR that the “overall scheme is novel --- and perhaps unprecedented.” But he added that “the Constitution does not prohibit legislation simply because it is novel.” He did prohibit the state from taking any punitive action under the law against the Muslim civil rights group, its employees or those providing legal services.
Attorney General James Uthmeier called the ruling a “great win” in a social media post on X.
CAIR was one of 90 groups labeled domestic or international terrorist organizations at the Cabinet meeting. Others on the lists include the Muslim Brotherhood, the Venezuelan crime syndicate Tren de Aragua, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of Iran, and the anti-fascism movement known as antifa.
At DeSantis’ request, the Republican-dominated Legislature approved a law in the spring allowing the designation (HB 1471).
The law allows the state’s Chief of Domestic Security– currently Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Larry Keefe– to designate a domestic or foreign terrorist organization.
It also bars a court from enforcing any provision of a religious or foreign law, with an emphasis against the Islamic code known as Sharia law, and requires a student in the Florida College System who “promotes” terrorist organizations to be expelled.
The law defines “promotion” as when a student’s actions can be “reasonably interpreted” as an actual threat of violence; disrupting the learning environment; infringing upon the rights of others; or offering “material support for or the recruitment of members for such an organization.”
Other parts of the bill bar schools affiliated with designated terrorist organizations from receiving state K-12 scholarship program money. Also, public universities and colleges are prohibited from spending state or federal funds to support programs or campus activities that promote a designated terrorist organization.
During a more than two-hour hearing on Oct. 28, Gorski said the designation will make it impossible for the nonprofit to operate and that members were prepared to resign.
Charles Cooper, an attorney representing the state, told Winsor during the hearing that CAIR serves as a “terrorist front group” for Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood, which “hides activities behind a charitable organization.”
This is DeSantis’ second attempt to place the “terrorist organization” label on the Council on American-Islamic Relations and the Muslim Brotherhood.
In March, U.S. District Court Judge Mark Walker issued a preliminary injunction against an executive order DeSantis issued in December 2025, ruling it violated CAIR’s rights by targeting and threatening those providing the organization with material support. The state has filed an appeal against the ruling.
Additional reporting by News Service of Florida.