Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Monday signed an executive order designating the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) as a foreign terrorist organization. The executive order, an unprecedented step at the state level, cites a supposed connection between the Muslim Brotherhood and CAIR as the primary justification for the designation.

The Florida order specifically targets CAIR as a domestic faction of the Muslim Brotherhood. It draws an historical link to the Brotherhood’s founding in Egypt in 1928 and states that the organization’s broader ideology is “irreconcilable with foundational American principles of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness reflected in the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution, especially including the right to religious freedom and the equal protection of the laws.”

The order depicts CAIR as founded by individuals connected with the Muslim Brotherhood, citing a larger alleged conspiracy to fund terrorist activity within the United States. The order also refers to the case United States v. Holy Land Foundation for Relief & Development, which successfully prosecuted a Texas charity raising funds for humanitarian efforts in Palestine. The foundation was charged after being monitored under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 for providing financial assistance to Hamas, a designated foreign terrorist organization. The order notes that CAIR was named an unindicted co-conspirator in the case.

This state action follows an executive order issued by President Donald Trump in November 2025, which targeted Muslim Brotherhood chapters as foreign terrorist organizations and associated individuals as specially designated global terrorists. The presidential executive order alleged a larger connection between the “Lebanese chapter of the Muslim Brotherhood…Hamas, Hezbollah, and Palestinian factions,” and their targeting of Israel. The goal of the executive order is to “eliminate the capabilities and operations” of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Prior to this, Texas Governor Greg Abbott also designated CAIR as a foreign terrorist organization. CAIR responded by filing a lawsuit against Abbott for defamation. CAIR, which has an office in Florida, operates nationwide to advocate, educate, and protect the Muslim community through civil rights legal work, policy work, and youth development.