The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), alongside its Florida chapter, announced it plans to sue Gov. Ron DeSantis in response to an executive order that labeled the civil rights group as a foreign terrorist organization, calling it “defamatory and unconstitutional" in a statement this week.
In their statement, CAIR National and CAIR Florida accused the governor of being "an Israel First politician" by prioritizing the Jewish State over the people of Florida, including diverting millions of state taxpayer dollars into Israeli government bonds.
They also accused Gov. DeSantis of smearing and silencing American muslims critical of U.S. support for its interpretation of Israel's war crimes in Gaza.
"Governor DeSantis knows full well that CAIR-Florida is an American civil rights organization that has spent decades advancing free speech, religious freedom, and justice for all, including for the Palestinian people," CAIR and CAIR Florida wrote. "That’s precisely why Governor DeSantis is targeting our civil rights group with this unconstitutional and defamatory proclamation."
They also expressed confidence in defeating Gov. DeSantis' latest attempt, referencing a previous lawsuit by the governor that the state ultimately backed down on after trying to shut down Students for Justice in Palestine chapters at Florida colleges.
“We look forward to defeating Governor DeSantis’ latest Israel First stunt in a court of law, where facts matter and conspiracy theories have no weight," CAIR and CAIR Florida continued. "In the meantime, we encourage all Floridians and all Americans to speak up against this latest attempt to shred the Constitution for the benefit of a foreign government.”
CAIR is also suing the State of Texas and Gov. Greg Abbott for accusing them of being a foreign terrorist organization.
Gov. DeSantis issued his executive order designating CAIR and the Muslim Brotherhood as Foreign Terrorist Organizations this week. He responded to the organization's lawsuit following a press conference in North Miami Beach on Tuesday.
“I welcome the lawsuit. We did do the designation for the Muslim Brotherhood and CAIR; this is something that has been a long time coming," DeSantis said. "I know the federal government is now working in a similar direction. The Legislature is working on statutory laws that are going to impact this area."
"I think our executive order is kinda the beginning," DeSantis continued. "I think you're going to see statutory codification of how we handle different terror designations. But I welcome the lawsuit, because what will happen is that will give the State of Florida discovery rights to be able to subpoena the bank records, to be able to vet."
