DeSantis order designating CAIR a terrorist group draws legal challenge and opposition

Gov. Ron DeSantis [Florida News Service]

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Posted January 7, 2026 | By Jennifer Hunt Murty
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Gov. Ron DeSantis’ recent executive order designating the Council on American-Islamic Relations, CAIR, as a terrorist organization for purposes of state action has prompted a federal lawsuit and renewed constitutional questions amid growing scrutiny over the administration’s refusal to disclose records supporting the order.

Executive Order 25-244, issued Dec. 8, 2025, directs all executive and Cabinet agencies, as well as counties and municipalities, to take steps to prevent CAIR-Florida and the Muslim Brotherhood from receiving “any contract, employment, funds, or other benefit or privilege.”

The order, like one issued by Texas Gov. Greg Abbot in 2024, does not formally designate the groups under federal terrorism statutes, and both executive orders have been met with community pushback and legal scrutiny.

In a Dec. 19 letter to DeSantis, more than a dozen advocacy groups around Florida strongly objected to his declaring CAIR a “foreign terrorist organization” and called on the governor to rescind the declaration. The groups include: State Voices Florida, ACLU of Florida, Common Cause of Florida, League of Women Voters of Florida, National Council of Jewish Women, NAACP Florida State Conference, Advancement Project, Florida Chapter National Organization for Women, Florida Council of Churches, Equality Florida, Florida for All, The Workers Circle, and the Harriet Tubman Freedom Fighters.

“The State of Florida has provided no credible evidence that CAIR-Florida has engaged in or supported terrorism,” the groups said in a public statement regarding the letter.

The language of the executive order mirrors language contained in a federal bill and prior state resolution sponsored by U.S. Rep. Randy Fine. Fine, who is Jewish, was appointed to Congress on April 2, 2025, replacing Mike Waltz, who left for a position in the Trump administration. Fine served in the Florida Senate from 2024 to 2025 and in the Florida House of Representatives from 2016 to 2024.

Legislative gap and records requests

DeSantis has publicly stated that members of the Florida Legislature were actively “crafting legislation to stop the creep of sharia law,” and urged lawmakers to “codify these protections for Floridians against CAIR and the Muslim Brotherhood in their legislation.”

More than a month after those comments — and one week before the start of the 2026 legislative session — no bill referencing “sharia law” has been filed.

Fine sponsored Florida House Resolution 1209 in 2024, which encouraged state agencies to suspend contact with CAIR. House resolutions, under Florida law, are typically ceremonial and do not carry binding legal force.

Attempts to obtain documentation supporting the governor’s executive order have so far been unsuccessful. When asked to provide evidence or analysis identifying terrorist activity by CAIR or explaining the legal basis for the order, Press Secretary Molly Best responded by directing inquiries to the governor’s social media posts summarizing the order and has ignored follow-up requests for records related to the governor’s order.

Basis for the designation

The executive order relies on allegations that CAIR was founded by individuals connected to the Muslim Brotherhood and that the organization was named an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation terrorism-financing case, which concluded roughly 25 years ago.

Those allegations are nearly identical to findings cited in Fine’s federal bill, H.R. 4097, filed in June 2025. Fine’s bill failed to gain traction in Congress.

However, CAIR has never been charged with a crime, noted Edward Ahmed Mitchell, one of the organization’s attorneys noted in an interview with the “Gazette.”

Claims by Fine that there have been individuals associated with CAIR who were later “convicted of providing, and conspiring to provide, material support to a designated terrorist organization,”  conflicts with CAIR’s consistent denouncement of terrorism and hate crimes, says Mitchell.

Mitchell also noted that a former CAIR executive director was targeted by ISIS after publicly condemning the group and urging Americans to act against its influence in the Middle East.

Federal lawsuit challenges order

CAIR National and CAIR-Florida, both federally recognized 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations, filed a federal lawsuit seeking to block enforcement of DeSantis’ executive order. The Southern Poverty Law Center and the Muslim Legal Fund of America have joined the case.

The lawsuit describes the action as a “blatantly unconstitutional executive order” and “one of the most extreme abuses of executive power that we’ve seen in modern American history.”

CAIR National Litigation Director Lena Masri said the governor acted “without any evidence, without any due process and without any legal authority,” arguing the order violates the First Amendment, due process protections and the Supremacy Clause.

Masri pointed to DeSantis’ public comment welcoming the lawsuit because it would give the state an “opportunity to dig into CAIR’s finances and internal affairs” as evidence of retaliation.

At a press conference announcing the lawsuit, attorneys were asked to place the order within a broader context of anti-Muslim rhetoric, including statements attributed to Fine suggesting Muslims should be expelled from the United States.

Charles Swift of the Muslim Legal Fund of America said that while the Constitution protects private individuals’ right to hold bigoted views, it prohibits the government from using official power to discriminate.

Swift framed the legal challenge as a question of “whether a governor, by utilizing a label, can silence his critics.”

FBI contact policy clarified

Florida House Resolution 1209 and Fine’s federal bill both state the FBI suspended all formal contacts with CAIR due to evidence of ties to Hamas.

However, a 2013 report by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of the Inspector General found that the FBI’s 2008 policy was more limited, aimed at “significantly restrict[ing] non-investigative interactions” following the Holy Land Foundation trial.

The policy instructed FBI personnel to refrain from participating in CAIR-sponsored events or inviting CAIR representatives to FBI outreach activities, but it did not bar investigative contact or civil rights complaints.

The inspector general confirmed in the report that CAIR leaders and members “can contact any FBI field office and file or discuss any civil rights matter at any time.”

Mitchell said the policy has effectively meant that “for 15 years the FBI and CAIR have avoided photo ops together.”

“But,” he added, “CAIR and the FBI frequently share information.”

Mitchell said CAIR has relayed threats involving public officials, including Vice President Mike Pence and President Donald Trump during Trump’s first term. In one instance, Mitchell said, FBI officials visited CAIR’s Atlanta office in 2019 to thank the organization.

Political context and foreign policy ties

DeSantis’ first Cabinet meeting in 2019, attended by roughly 100 people, was held in Israel.

Following Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel that killed about 1,200 people, DeSantis supported legislation that critics said was intended to suppress campus protests opposing Israel’s military response in Gaza, which international observers have described as a humanitarian crisis.

Trump publicly denounced Hamas and expressed interest in negotiating peace following Israel’s retaliation and the humanitarian crisis that resulted.

Fine’s role and remarks

Fine acknowledged in an interview with the “Gazette” that he does not possess financial records showing CAIR funneled money to Hamas, but he expressed delight similar to DeSantis that the federal lawsuit CAIR filed would allow the government to explore that.

“We’ll be able to see who the organization’s donors are!” Fine told the “Gazette.”

When asked why nearly 18 months elapsed between his 2024 House resolution and DeSantis’ executive order, Fine said, “He’ll have to answer that.”

Fine also cited a Texas criminal case in which CAIR provided legal support to Muslim defendants accused of spraying graffiti with antisemitic messages on a Christian church.

In that case, prosecutors sought hate-crime enhancements. CAIR agreed the vandalism was wrong but argued the charges improperly conflated criticism of the Israeli government with religious hatred.

CAIR’s website quotes Mustafaa Carroll, executive director of CAIR-Texas DFW, stating: “Although we strongly condemn the vandalism of this church and believe that those responsible should be held accountable for this crime, Texas prosecutors are going beyond the law attempting to criminalize political speech by conflating criticism of the Israeli government with religious hatred. Our state’s hate crime laws were meant to protect vulnerable communities, not shield foreign governments from critique. We can and should condemn the vandalism of a house of worship without criminalizing speech.”

Local connection

Manal Fakhoury, a Marion County resident for 40 years, faced criticism for her involvement in CAIR from former Ocala Mayor Kent Guinn when they campaigned against each other in 2021.

Fakhoury called Guinn’s comments “discriminatory.”

Fakhoury maintains that CAIR is a civil rights organization and she’s proud to serve as its chairperson because she “knows the good work they do.”

Fakhoury has held several leadership roles throughout decades in Marion County. She’s served as the president of the Marion County Chamber of Commerce, chairperson of the local YMCA of American Heart Association, and has held leadership roles in local and state Rotary Clubs.

All of Fakhoury’s children attended Marion County public schools. Her husband, Dr. Riadh Fakhoury, runs a medical clinic in Marion County that recently celebrated its 40^th anniversary and has been recognized by the Marion County Board of County Commissioners for its commitment of service to the community through the years.

On Dec. 3, just days before the governor issued his executive order, Marion County commissioners described the medical practice on a social media post as “a trusted pillar in the community, providing comprehensive medical and chiropractic care, physiotherapy, wellness services, and patient-centered treatment. Over four decades, Fakhoury Medical has not only improved the health and mobility of thousands of patients but has also been deeply involved in community education, mentorship, and charitable initiatives that strengthen Marion County. The Board honored the Center’s commitment to excellence, compassion, and community engagement, celebrating the lasting impact the team has had on the health and well-being of residents across the County.”

“In fact, we don’t only support the civil rights of Muslim Americans, we advocate for civil rights for everyone,” Fakhoury told the “Gazette” by telephone.  “I think we need to ask ourselves why a civil rights organization like CAIR is needed in the United States.”