Late last year, DeSantis signed an\u00a0executive order\u00a0designating CAIR as a \u201cforeign terrorist organization.\u201d CAIR sued over the \u200bdesignation and a judge eventually\u00a0blocked the order.<\/p>\n
Free speech group PEN America says the measure signed by DeSantis \u201ccould chill free speech by placing unprecedented pressure on individuals to avoid speaking, organizing, or engaging with certain viewpoints.\u201d<\/p>\n
In November, Texas also designated CAIR as a terrorist organization, alleging the rights group had ties to extremists. CAIR sued over that designation as well and dismissed the claims.<\/p>\n
\t Darryl Li, a legal scholar at the University of Chicago, and Shirin Sinnar, a professor of law at Stanford Law School, said in a joint piece in February that efforts by Texas and Florida towards such designations \u201ccould lay the groundwork for even more sweeping forms of authoritarianism.\u201d<\/p>\n Republican US President Donald Trump\u2019s administration and some Republican-governed states have cracked down against left-leaning organizations and pro-Palestinian groups that they cast as extremist, antisemitic and anti-American.<\/p>\n Those groups deny the allegations and say the crackdown violates free speech and due process.<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s attempts to deport some protesters and freeze funds for universities where protests were held have\u00a0faced judicial roadblocks.<\/p>\n PEN America Florida Director William Johnson said the Florida legislation \u201copens the door for Florida students to face punishment for constitutionally protected speech.\u201d<\/p>\n DeSantis cast the legislation as a framework to combat extremism and have accountability in the education system.<\/p>\n
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\n\t\tUS President Donald Trump arrives from the Blue Room to speak about the Iran war from the Cross Hall of the White House, in Washington, April 1, 2026. (Alex Brandon\/AP)<\/p>\n
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David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel<\/p>\n
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