Florida Muslims come to state Capitol despite 'terrorist' designation by DeSantis
A special report from Tallahassee news service Florida Phoenix
By Mitch Perry
Officials from the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) Florida came to Tallahassee Monday to speak with lawmakers about pending legislation during the annual “Muslim Day” at the Capitol, but found conditions far different than in the past.
That’s because in December, Gov. Ron DeSantis issued an executive order designating CAIR a “terrorist organization.” The group immediately denied the accusation and filed a federal lawsuit, asking the court to block the executive order and declare it unconstitutional. The case is set for oral arguments on CAIR Florida’s motion for injunctive relief on Feb. 27.
Turning up the heat Monday was Florida Attorney James Uthmeier, who posted a message on social media shortly before the press conference saying he had asked law enforcement to be “on heightened alert for any possible security threats.”
At least seven members of the Florida Capitol Police stood sentry in the rotunda of the Capitol as the press conference took place — as noted by one lawmaker who spoke.
“The fact that we have a massive amount of security today is unreal to me,” said Jacksonville Democratic Rep. Angie Nixon. “These are your brothers. Your neighbors. Your sisters. Your friends. They deserve compassion. They deserve to be treated with respect and dignity.”
CAIR Florida’s concerns on specific legislation
CAIR Florida is speaking out against several bills filed this legislative session, none bigger for them than HB 1471, sponsored by Rep. Hillary Cassel, R-Dania Beach, in the House and by Sen. Erin Grall, R-Vero Beach, (SB 1632 ) in the Senate.
The legislation would provide a process by which the state’s chief of domestic security may designate an organization as a foreign terrorist organization or domestic terrorist organization if that officer finds that it engages in activities dangerous to human life, intended to intimidate or coerce a civilian population, influence the policy of a government by intimidation, or affect the conduct of government by mass destruction.
That designation would then require the approval of the state Cabinet to become effective.
CAIR Florida also opposes two attendant bills (HB 1473/SB 1634) to create a public-records exemption for any information used by the chief domestic security officer “critical to state or national security.” Mark Glass, head of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, fulfills that role.
Hiba Rahim, deputy executive director with CAIR Florida, said the federal government is already tasked with identifying and investigating foreign and domestic terrorism.
“To take that power from the federal government that has a strict set of criteria that it must follow and to put it not in the hands of our legislators, but to put it in the hands of five individuals, is an extreme overreach and a very dangerous place for the United States to be in,” she said.
Rep. Anna Eskamani, D-Orlando, said the proposal “weaponizes state agencies to basically pick their political enemies and to leverage every act of the state to go after that entity, even if there is no evidence of material support for terrorism.”
The legislation would allow a designated terrorist organization, or any member of such organization, to challenge that designation in the Leon County Circuit Court.
But Eskamani said that would be too late.
“My concern is once you have a label, it sticks,” she said, referencing Uthmeier’s posting on X earlier in the day. “We’re seeing right now that takes place on social media, where accusations are being thrown with no evidence by a single appointed individual. That is creating a lot of fear and sense of intimidation between all parties. There’s nothing scary about Muslim Day at the Capitol.”
Self-censorship?
Another part of HB 1471/SB 1632 says that students who “have been determined to have promoted a designated foreign terrorist organization or a domestic terrorist organization … may be immediately expelled from the institution.”
Rahim says that provision will discourage free speech on college campuses and instead encourage a system where people will be “forced into self-censorship because they’re afraid of getting their student loans cut, their scholarships cut, they won’t be able to speak their minds freely.”
She added that all students should be concerned, whether they’re with an environmental organization, Planned Parenthood, or the NRA.
“We have an administration today that can target things on their agenda specific groups, but tomorrow it will be a different administration, tomorrow a different group of individuals,” she said.
“This bill does not regulate speech,” Rep. Cassel insisted in defending her proposal before the House Civil Justice & Claims Subcommittee last week. “This bill regulates conduct. To be designated a domestic terrorism organization, it is not in your speech, it is in your conduct.”
Cassel acknowledged the United States lacks a list of domestic terrorist organizations. But she said that since Florida is the 15th largest economy in the world, “surrounded by water, ports, military bases … it necessary to protect our state accordingly.”
HB 1471 will be up in front of the House Education and Employment Committee on Tuesday. Its Senate companion, SB 1632, will go before the Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday afternoon.
Observing Monday’s events at the Capitol, former Florida Republican House Speaker Paul Renner, now running for governor, released a statement declaring that he stood with Gov. DeSantis in “naming Muslim groups, like CAIR, ‘foreign terrorists.’”
“As Governor, I will never allow them to take a toehold here in our state, and I will take any legal means to get them out,” he said. “This is not a matter of partisan disagreement — it is a matter of protecting our Republic, rejecting political extremism, and standing firmly for our Judeo-Christian heritage.”
CAIR National responded to Uthmeier’s post on social media on Monday.
“The thought of Florida Muslims exercising their constitutional right to visit the State Capitol and meet with their elected officials might terrify keyboard warriors like @AGJamesUthmeier. But Mr. Uthmeier’s cowardice and his contempt for the Constitution are his problems, not ours.”
Florida is not the only state to designate CAIR a “domestic terrorist organization; Texas Gov. Greg Abbott did so in November. CAIR National subsequently filed a federal lawsuit to block enforcement of Abbott’s move as unconstitutional.
Mitch Perry has covered politics and government in Florida for more than two decades. Most recently, he is the former politics reporter for Bay News 9. He has also worked at Florida Politics, Creative Loafing and WMNF Radio in Tampa.
Tallahassee-based Florida Phoenix is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization. This article by reporter Mitch Perry is published with the news organization’s permission. To support Florida Phoenix, click here:
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I think what DeSantis meant to say is that the Republicans are a terrorist group and not to be trusted. Racism comes in so many different faces. The Republicans are the main ones.
Why do Republicans delight in fixing non-existent problems with racist solutions? I laugh robustly when DeSantis talks about "Free Florida"; it's anything but free.
If you don't like what is going on, then do something about it. Vote, run for local or state office, sign up voters, etc. It's up to those who can see through the Republican nonsense to try to replace it with people who can see all sides of an issue.