Florida officials are delaying enforcement of a new state law that would allow the designation of terrorist organizations while they develop regulations to implement it, according to a court filing.
The filing states that the Florida Department of Law Enforcement intends to issue regulations governing the designation process and that “no designation will be made before the regulations are finalized.” Attorneys representing Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) said they could not provide a timeline for when the rules would be completed. The parties are scheduled to update the court again by July 22.
The development comes after several nonprofit organizations challenged the law on behalf of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, which brands itself as a Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization. On July 2, the groups sought an emergency injunction to prevent the state from making any designations while the lawsuit proceeds, arguing they faced the threat of prosecution under the law’s broad provisions. A federal judge denied the request, saying additional briefing and evidence were needed to determine whether state officials were moving forward with enforcement.
In the filing, attorneys for the state wrote that the Florida Department of Law Enforcement “intends to promulgate regulations” under the law and that any future designations will be made only after those regulations are finalized.
“From day 1, Florida officials’ use of this dangerous new designation regime has violated the Constitution,” said Hina Shamsi, director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s National Security Project. “Gov. DeSantis has simply no legitimate basis to brand our clients with one of society’s most reviled labels let alone to force them to shut their doors under threat of crippling criminal penalties.”
Earlier this month, DeSantis said Florida would designate CAIR, the Muslim Brotherhood, and antifa under the new law, while also recognizing more than 90 foreign terrorist organizations already designated by the federal government, including the Sinaloa cartel, Tren de Aragua, and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
CAIR is not designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S. government and has not carried out terrorist attacks. The organization has, however, faced recent political scrutiny over alleged ties to Hamas and other Islamist groups.
DeSantis to brand CAIR, Muslim Brotherhood, and antifa foreign terrorist organizations
The legislation prohibits taxpayer-funded institutions from supporting designated terrorist organizations, creates new state crimes for providing material support to such groups, and authorizes the administrative dissolution of certain corporations designated as terrorist organizations.
The law expands on a December executive order in which DeSantis directed state agencies to eliminate the influence of what he described as “radical terrorist ideologies,” but the order was temporarily blocked by a federal judge in March.