The fear was palpable — in the state Capitol in Tallahassee, of all places.
It was also understandable. It reflects what we have come to in a country where Renee Good was falsely called a “domestic terrorist” and where we see people being dragged from their cars and beaten.
At the Capitol Thursday, dozens of people, including high school students from Broward and beyond, urged lawmakers to reject a domestic terrorism bill that they fear could have a chilling effect on free speech, especially on college campuses, and result in peaceful protesters being labeled as terrorists.
It produced by far the most emotional public testimony so far in the 2026 session.
Mike Stocker/Sun Sentinel
Steve Bousquet, South Florida Sun Sentinel columnist.
House Bill 1471 is championed by a Broward legislator, Rep. Hillary Cassel of Dania Beach, who’s seeking re-election as a Republican.
Cassel set off a furor when she switched parties more than a year ago, quitting the Democratic Party in the middle of her term.
If she’s looking to expand her political base, this doesn’t appear to be the way.
Facing criticism that the bill is worded too vaguely, Cassel insisted that it would require groups to meet multiple definitions of terrorism, such as endangering human life, coercion and intimidation through violence, and that it does not threaten speech or association.
“The bill protects ideology. This bill focuses on terrorist conduct,” Cassel said.
Her bill gives broad new power to a chief domestic security officer, likely the commissioner of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), an agency that has become more politicized in the DeSantis years.
Cassel’s goal is also more layers of secrecy — the last thing Florida needs.
A related bill (HB 1473) carves out new exemptions from the public records law so that FDLE can secretly compile lists of terrorist groups and secretly report findings of domestic terrorism to the governor and three elected Cabinet members. That’s far too much power in the wrong hands.
To hear Cassel tell it, her bill would make us safer.
Opponents say it would do just the opposite and that existing federal definitions of domestic terrorism make state-level duplication unnecessary.
In the highly polarized America in which we currently find ourselves, this feels like modern-day McCarthyism.
Emily Gorentz, a 31-year-old fifth-grade teacher in Osceola County, spoke for many.
“You have adults in this room who are full of fear, and it trickles down into the community, and the fear that this kind of bill produces is tangible. It has real impacts on real people,” Gorentz told the House Civil Justice & Claims Subcommittee, made up of 12 Republicans and five Democrats.
Cassel’s legislation passed 14 to 3. It has two more hearings before reaching the House floor.
To the disapointment of opponents, even two Democrats voted yes: Reps. Kimberly Daniels of Jacksonville and Mike Gottlieb of Davie.
Gottlieb, a respected defense attorney in his last year in Tallahassee and chairman of the Jewish Caucus in the Legislature, said the bill still needs work, and said he might still vote no later, but that key terms in the bill such as “material support” are properly defined, contrary to what opponents claim.
“I know I’m going to get a lot of heat for it,” Gottlieb said before he voted yes.
Organized opponents include the ACLU, Common Cause, the LGBTQ group Equality Florida, NAACP branches, Southern Poverty Law Center and CAIR, the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
Many young opponents belong to the SEE Alliance (Social Equity Through Education), a statewide grassroots student advocacy group headquartered in Sarasota, such as Mikyle Sukoo, a student at Fort Lauderdale High, and Koulson Fry of Coconut Creek, a student organizer at UCF in Orlando. At the committee hearing, both spoke out against the bill.
“This feels irresponsible,” said Rep. Michele Rayner, D-St. Petersburg, one of the three who voted no. “This is anti-American on its face.”
The other no votes were Democrats Bruce Antone of Orlando and Dotie Joseph of North Miami.
Most lawmakers are effusively eager to discuss their legislation and would gush with pride after a 14 to 3 vote. Not Cassel. Immediately afterward, she declined to discuss the bill while two House security officers helped her avoid questions.
In House District 101, where Cassel seeks re-election, Republicans are far outnumbered by Democrats and unaffiliated NPA voters. The district cuts across Hallandale Beach, Hollywood, Dania Beach, Davie and Fort Lauderdale.
House Bill 1471 is likely to pass easily in the conservative House, but have no fear. It will cause political problems for Cassel on the Broward campaign trail — as well it should.
Steve Bousquet is Opinion Editor of the Sun Sentinel and a columnist in Tallahassee and Fort Lauderdale. Contact him at sbousquet@sunsentinel.com or (850) 567-2240.