On July 9, 2026, the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University and Selendy Gay PLLC filed an amicus brief in CAIR Foundation v. DeSantis, a case challenging Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s executive order designating the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)—the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization—a “terrorist organization.” The executive order bars CAIR and those associated with it from state and local government contracts, employment opportunities, funding, and other benefits.

In March, a federal district court preliminarily blocked enforcement of the executive order, holding that the order violates the First Amendment because it coerces third parties to end their protected expressive and associational activities with CAIR. Gov. DeSantis appealed the district court’s decision.

The Institute’s amicus brief argues that the order violates the First Amendment because it singles out CAIR for punishment based on the organization’s purported viewpoint and was issued to suppress disfavored ideas. It explains that the order cannot survive any form of heightened scrutiny and is therefore unconstitutional.

In a separate lawsuit, CAIR is challenging recently enacted Florida laws that allow state officials to designate groups as domestic terrorist organizations based on unproven allegations.

Status: Briefing on appeal ongoing; amicus brief filed July 9, 2026.

Case Information: CAIR-Foundation, Inc. v. DeSantis, No. 26-10735 (11th Cir.).