CAIR-Florida suspends operations as ‘domestic terrorist’ designation takes effect; groups say they will appeal ruling

CAIR-Florida has suspended its operations in Florida under the state’s designation of the group and its national parent, CAIR-Foundation Inc., as “domestic terrorist organizations,” according to a notice posted Nov. 5 on the door of its Tampa headquarters, as reported by WUSF.¹ The groups and their lawyers say they will appeal a federal judge’s Nov. 4 decision not to block the designations.²

As of Saturday, the case docket as posted on CourtListener listed no entry after the Nov. 4 order, including no notice of appeal to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and no bond entry.³

What the groups and the state have said

In a Nov. 5 release, the American Civil Liberties Union, which represents the groups along with the ACLU of Florida, the Southern Poverty Law Center and a private firm, said the groups “will appeal.” It quoted Ashley Gorski, senior counsel with the ACLU’s National Security Project, as saying, “we are appealing it.” The release said the groups are required to halt their in-state advocacy and operations, and quoted Hiba Rahim, CAIR-Florida’s executive director, as saying they had “no choice but to close our doors to protect our staff.”²

The News Service of Florida, in a story published by WGCU, reported that Attorney General James Uthmeier called the ruling a “great win” in a post on X.⁴

The ruling

Chief U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor of the Northern District of Florida denied most of the groups’ request for a preliminary injunction. He barred the attorney general and the 20 state attorneys from enforcing the state’s material-support law against the groups, their employees or anyone else over legal services provided to the groups. The order says that relief takes effect once the plaintiffs post a $1,000 bond.⁵ The docket sets a Nov. 18 deadline for a joint report with a proposed litigation plan.³

Winsor wrote that the question at this stage was not whether the groups are in fact terrorist organizations. The order records both positions: The groups describe a faith-rooted civil rights mission, and the state says they operate as fronts for Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood. He accepted, from undisputed declarations, the groups’ statements that the designations would essentially close their Florida operations and that CAIR-Florida would shut down entirely.⁵

He wrote that the groups were not likely to succeed on facial challenges or on their claims, as applied to them, that the designation is a criminal punishment, that the state’s objection-and-appeal process was inadequate, or that the designations violate their freedom of association or act as a prior restraint on speech.⁵

The exception concerns Florida Statutes section 775.33(3), which makes knowingly giving material support to a designated group a first-degree felony; the law’s definition of material support includes “expert advice.” Winsor wrote that the term covers legal advice and that the groups are likely to show the restriction, as applied to their receipt of legal services, violates the First Amendment.⁵

Background

The order says the Legislature created the designation process in HBs 1471 and 1473 after the same court blocked an earlier executive order by Gov. Ron DeSantis labeling the groups terrorist organizations; the governor’s appeal of that ruling is pending. The governor and Cabinet approved the designations Sept. 29, and they were published Oct. 6.⁵

What the records do not show

• The CourtListener copy of the docket reviewed Nov. 7 does not show a notice of appeal or a posted bond. Such copies can lag the court’s system.³
• The order is not a final ruling. It says the groups’ retaliation and preemption claims were not at issue at this stage.⁵
• The order makes no finding on whether either group is a terrorist organization or on the state’s evidence.⁵
• SignalData did not independently confirm the status of the groups’ Florida offices beyond the groups’ statements and published reports.