Florida Gov.
Ron DeSantis moved quickly on Wednesday, July 1, 2026, to officially designate two Islamic groups, various foreign cartels, and an anti-fascism movement as terrorist organizations under a newly enacted state anti-terrorism law.
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The actions follow the effective date of House Bill 1471 from the 2026 regular legislative session, which grants the state authority to impose such designations.
The designated entities include the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the Muslim Brotherhood, and antifa, alongside more than 90 foreign organizations already recognized as terrorist groups by the federal government.
Governor Cites Actions, Not Ideology
According to a release from the governor's office, the measure is designed to identify and eliminate terrorist networks operating within the state.
Speaking from the Attorney General’s Tampa Office of Statewide Prosecution, the governor emphasized the need for decisive action regarding the spread of these movements.
"We’ve got to draw a very strong line in the sand here," said Gov. Ron DeSantis.
"We’ve seen this creep throughout the country over many, many years."
DeSantis noted that the designations are based directly on the groups' activities rather than their political ideology.
He explicitly cited the actions of militant leftists and foreign syndicates, such as the Tren de Aragua and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, as primary drivers for the policy.
"Even though I don’t like antifa’s ideas, I mean, they’re militant leftists," said Gov. Ron DeSantis.
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