\u201cforeign terrorist organization\u201d<\/a> is unconstitutional, defamatory and already harming its work across the state.<\/p>\nCAIR and its Florida chapter filed the federal lawsuit just days after DeSantis issued an executive order directing state and local agencies to deny contracts, jobs, funding, benefits or other privileges to CAIR and to individuals accused of providing \u201cmaterial support\u201d to the organization.<\/p>\n
Speaking at a press conference in Tampa, CAIR-FL leaders said the order amounts to punishment without evidence or due process.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis executive order does not represent facts,\u201d Hiba Rahim of CAIR-FL said. \u201cIt does not cite investigations. It does not point to any criminal findings. It simply declares guilt by proclamation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rahim said the lawsuit challenges what CAIR calls an unprecedented overreach of executive power.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt does not matter whether you agree or disagree with our policies or our advocacy,\u201d she said. \u201cWhat should concern every American is the implication of allowing a government official to apply criminal designations without due process.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to the lawsuit, DeSantis exceeded his legal authority by unilaterally designating CAIR a terrorist organization \u2014 a power CAIR argues belongs exclusively to the federal government. The complaint also alleges violations of the Constitution\u2019s guarantees of due process and free speech, saying the order retaliates against CAIR\u2019s advocacy and chills lawful expression.<\/p>\n
\u201cJudges \u2014 not politicians \u2014 decide what is lawful,\u201d Rahim said. \u201cThe American rule of law has been turned upside down. The governor issued the accusation and the punishment and skipped the courts entirely.\u201d<\/p>\n
CAIR attorney Omar Saleh said the case hinges on a fundamental constitutional principle.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe power to designate a terrorist organization lies solely with the Secretary of State,\u201d Saleh said. \u201cIt is not the governor\u2019s power. We have a supremacy clause for that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Saleh also criticized language in the executive order directing the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Florida Highway Patrol to take unspecified \u201clawful measures\u201d against CAIR.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought we already had laws in place to prevent unlawful activity,\u201d he said. \u201cBut the governor wants to add additional penalties just in case you\u2019re Muslim or support a Muslim group. It doesn\u2019t work that way in this country.\u201d<\/p>\n
CAIR-FL emphasized that it is a nonprofit civil rights organization, not a terrorist group, and pointed to its public advocacy, including support for a Florida teenager detained in Israel for nearly nine months and calls for accountability after Muslim students were allegedly harassed during prayer at the University of South Florida.<\/p>\n
The organization also said the executive order is already having a chilling effect.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we are seeing already is what the intent of this executive order was for,\u201d Thania Clevenger, chief operating officer of CAIR National, said. \u201cThe intent of this executive order is to cause a chilling effect.\u201d<\/p>\n
Clevenger said a planned podcast involving CAIR was canceled following the order, and that contractors and institutions with longstanding relationships with the organization are now seeking legal advice.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are getting questions from people \u2014 contractors wondering if the mere fact that they do business with CAIR somehow implicates them,\u201d she said. \u201cThat chilling effect is happening.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rahim added that while some institutions are reassessing their relationships, CAIR has also seen strong community support.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople are questioning and pausing,\u201d she said. \u201cBut in almost every single case so far, we\u2019ve seen incredible support from the community, where they\u2019ve chosen to continue their relationships with CAIR Florida.\u201d<\/p>\n
Governor DeSantis has said publicly that he welcomes the lawsuit.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is something that I know our attorney general is ready, willing, and able to be fighting on this,\u201d DeSantis said previously.<\/p>\n
The governor has also suggested the legal challenge could allow the state to scrutinize CAIR\u2019s finances.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat will give the State of Florida discovery rights \u2014 to subpoena bank records,\u201d DeSantis said.<\/p>\n
CAIR attorneys dismissed that argument.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m wondering what he thinks he\u2019s going to find,\u201d Saleh said. \u201cWe\u2019ve been doing this work for 20 or 30 years. If there was something there, I think he would\u2019ve found it already.\u201d<\/p>\n
Saleh accused the governor of using the order to score political points rather than address issues facing Floridians.<\/p>\n
\u201cInstead of focusing on housing and affordability, he\u2019s trying to leave a legacy filled with hate and divisiveness,\u201d Saleh said. \u201cThis case boils down to somebody trying to stop the work that we\u2019re doing \u2014 and that tells you the work is effective.\u201d<\/p>\n
CAIR leaders framed the lawsuit as a broader test of constitutional limits on executive power.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s about whether any governor can act like a king,\u201d Rahim said. \u201cIt\u2019s about whether dissent can be criminalized, and whether civil rights organizations can exist without the threat of political retaliation.\u201d<\/p>\n
The lawsuit seeks declaratory and injunctive relief to block enforcement of the executive order while the case proceeds. It also notes that the U.S. government has never designated CAIR a terrorist organization.<\/p>\n
A similar lawsuit is already pending in Texas, where CAIR is challenging an almost identical designation issued by Gov. Greg Abbott.<\/p>\n
CAIR leaders said they are confident the courts will ultimately rule in their favor.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are confident that the courts will once again affirm that you do not defeat civil rights by defaming those who defend them,” Rahim said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Speaking at a press conference in Tampa, CAIR Florida leaders said the order amounts to punishment without evidence…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":86104,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[202,204,203,199,201,200],"class_list":["post-86103","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-st-petersburg","tag-st-pete","tag-st-pete-headlines","tag-st-pete-news","tag-st-petersburg","tag-st-petersburg-headlines","tag-st-petersburg-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86103","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=86103"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86103\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/86104"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=86103"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=86103"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=86103"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}