At the initiative of Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, the state of Florida has declared the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) as a terrorist organization, an entity connected to networks that finance Hamas and other terrorist groups in the Middle East.
The enacted regulation classifies the provision of "material support" to groups labeled as terrorists as a felony. If it passes judicial scrutiny in the courts, the southern state is on track to become the first district in the country to dissolve the CAIR branch based in Tampa.
In promoting the measure on social media months ago, DeSantis argued: "We have a responsibility to defend and revitalize Western civilization, and that means protecting ourselves against the progressive imposition of sharia in all its forms".
With this decision, Florida follows Texas in designating CAIR as a terrorist organization. The governors of both states justified the measure by stating that the institution was included —along with over 200 individuals and entities— in the list of "unindicted co-conspirators" in the historic trial for terrorism financing against the Holy Land Foundation, a case that concluded in 2008 with the conviction of the charitable foundation and five of its executives.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, confirmed last week that his economic department and the IRS are moving forward with the review to revoke the tax-exempt status of left-wing NGOs such as George Soros's Open Society Foundations, the Southern Poverty Law Center, and CAIR itself.
However, knowing its ties to international terrorism, the Trump administration is addressing the CAIR file from a strictly national security perspective, tightening the financial squeeze on this organization.
