Palestine Legal and the Center for Constitutional Rights Renew Condemnation of Repressive Florida "Terrorism" Designations

Today, the state of Florida’s designations of the non-profit civil rights organizations Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and CAIR-FL, as well as “Antifa,” as “Domestic Terrorist Organizations” (DTO) went into effect. As a result, CAIR-Florida has been forced to shut down their operations, and any material support or services provided to the organization are subject to civil and criminal penalties.

There is currently no such thing under federal law as a "Domestic Terrorist Organization," making this an unprecedented state-level expansion of the government's counterterrorism powers. These designations stem from Florida’s far-right government passing two “anti-terrorism" laws—HB1471 and HB1473—which went into effect on July 1, 2026. That same day, state officials announced their intent to designate CAIR and other groups under the law, and within hours, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) sued on behalf of CAIR and CAIR-FL. On November 4, the court denied ACLU and SPLC's request to enjoin the designations from taking effect on the grounds that they violate First Amendment rights of speech, association, and petition, and Fourteenth Amendment rights of due process, and would result in immediate substantial harm. Despite the decision to allow the baseless designations to take effect, the ongoing legal challenges against these designations and laws should prevail against such blatantly unconstitutional measures.

Palestine Legal and the Center for Constitutional Rights renew their condemnation of this dangerous state-level expansion of the disastrous post-9/11 “War on Terror” apparatus, which is being wielded as a tool of authoritarian political repression, and targeting non-profit organizations engaged in constitutionally protected advocacy solely because they are disliked by state officials. We stand in solidarity with CAIR and with Muslim communities in Florida who have lost crucial access to legal services and representation, and with all organizations and activists who are threatened by the state of Florida’s belligerent violations of constitutional and civil rights.  

We encourage widespread condemnation and organizing against this and other state and federal-level efforts to place a stranglehold on domestic dissent using counterterrorism apparatuses and other repressive tactics. The First Amendment still protects the right to engage in advocacy and speech calling out these repressive laws and condemning these attacks on CAIR and CAIR-FL, as long as it is done independently of any designated organization.

If you or someone you know has lost access to legal services in Florida as a result of the attacks on CAIR, or if you have questions about how to navigate these laws, you can reach out to the following for a local referral or other support:

The National Lawyers Guild: massdef@nlg.org

Palestine Legal (for requests related to your Palestine advocacy, including campus support): https://palestinelegal.org/

See our original statement here: Civil Rights Groups Condemn New Florida Anti-Terrorism Laws as State-Level Tools of Authoritarian Repression