Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Wednesday that CAIR Florida, the Muslim Brotherhood, and Antifa have been designated as terrorist organizations under a new state law that took effect just hours earlier.
The move comes months after a U.S. District Judge Mark Walker, an Obama nominee, blocked DeSantis’ previous executive order applying the same designation to CAIR Florida and the Muslim Brotherhood.
In his ruling at the time, Walker said that DeSantis did not have the power “unilaterally designate one of the largest Muslim civil rights groups in America as a ‘terrorist organization’ and withhold government benefits from anyone providing material support or resources to the group.”
DeSantis said the new law provides Florida with the legal authority needed to enforce the designations.
“We did need to have more of a legal structure to be able to add teeth to these designations,” DeSantis said.
The designations were recommended by FDLE Commissioner Mark Glass and now await approval by the governor and Cabinet, which must vote within seven days under the new law.
🚨 BREAKING: Gov. Ron DeSantis announces the Florida Cabinet will officially designate ANTIFA, the Muslim Brotherhood, and Council of American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) as TERRORIST ORGANIZATIONS under a law that takes effect today
LET’S GO! 👏🏻
Islamism and leftist violence have… pic.twitter.com/DF1LP4KmmV
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) July 1, 2026
DeSantis said he expects to call an emergency meeting and does not anticipate any opposition.
He also announced recommendations to designate more than 90 foreign organizations as terrorist groups, including Tren de Aragua, the Sinaloa Cartel, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Cartel del Noreste, and Cartel del Golfo.
He defended the law against criticism that it grants too much power to state officials..
“These are common-sense tools,” DeSantis said. “It’s not saying, ‘Oh, some random civic group.’ It’s based on conduct.”
The State of Florida will designate several groups as terrorist organizations under a new law that went into effect Wednesday, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced in a Tampa news conference. https://t.co/gOoNqeKxnQ@grantpalmertv pic.twitter.com/Tg9pb9RlpV
— WFLA NEWS (@WFLA) July 1, 2026
Desantis also cited CAIR’s designation as an unindicted co-conspirator in the 2007 Holy Land Foundation terrorism financing case, in which federal prosecutors alleged the organization was part of a Hamas support network.
If approved by the Cabinet, the designations would prohibit taxpayer funding and other public support for the organizations.
Meanwhile, individuals who knowingly provide material support could face severe criminal penalties.
Ben Kew is a writer and editor. Originally from the UK, he moved to the U.S. to cover Congress for Breitbart News and has since gone on to editorial roles at Human Events, Townhall Media, and Americano Media. He has also written for The Epoch Times, The Western Journal, and The Spectator.
You can email Ben Kew here, and read more of Ben Kew’s articles here.
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