Radicals beware: Florida to hit top Islamist and leftist groups with new ‘terrorist’ label

Florida is taking action against nearly 100 organizations that will likely soon have a new “terrorist” designation under Florida law.

On Wednesday, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis announced that some significant legislation, which provides a stronger framework for declaring groups terrorist organizations, took effect on the first day of the month.

‘We are not going to fund terrorism in our great state.’

During his announcement, DeSantis said that officials “are not going to waste any time” before beginning the “initial tranche” of domestic terrorist designations in Florida, suggesting more to come in the future as well.

“Based on the recommendations of Florida’s domestic security professionals and the authority, the newly established authority in law, my office and the [C]abinet are poised to officially designate the first slew of terrorist organizations under the new law,” DeSantis said in the announcement.

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Among those organizations designated, DeSantis named familiar Islamic groups like the Muslim Brotherhood and the Council on American-Islamic Relations, but also mentioned the addition of Antifa to the list. He also named a couple of groups affiliated with drug cartels, like Cartel de Sinaloa and Tren de Aragua.

Notably, DeSantis added that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of Iran would also be added to the list among “more than 90 Foreign Terrorist Organizations.”

Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Mark Glass, who also serves as the state’s chief domestic security officer, explained that the new law gives more tools to prevent taxpayer dollars from reaching those organizations that have been designated as terrorist groups, Florida’s Voice reported.

“We are not going to fund terrorism in our great state,” Glass told Florida’s Voice. “We’re just not going to do it.”

Glass added that the new framework will allow greater transparency for the public to see where taxpayer dollars are being distributed: “It’s actually even a public service campaign to ensure that you know where you’re receiving dollars or you’re giving dollars.”

These actions, however, have been under legal threat for months, dating back to before the legislation was signed. DeSantis acknowledged to Florida’s Voice that “we’ll definitely get sued,” though he believes the outcome “will be beneficial.”

The new law, which went into effect on Wednesday, builds upon an executive order from DeSantis on December 8, which laid the groundwork for legislation to be drafted and signed by the governor in early April.

The December executive order singled out CAIR and the Muslim Brotherhood. As a result, CAIR sued the administration over the executive order, arguing that its rights had been violated.

On March 4, United States District Judge Mark Walker granted the motion for a preliminary injunction, freezing the use of the executive order. The DeSantis administration appealed the injunction two days later in the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.

The law, signed almost exactly a month later, will likely be used as a new legal support in the ongoing legal fight over the executive order.

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