Islamic group CAIR suspends operations in Florida after losing lawsuit over terrorist designation



While Democrats are celebrating their midterm victories, the Council on American-Islamic Relations has been forced to suspend operations in the entire state of Florida.

CAIR made the decision to flee the state after it lost a federal lawsuit on Wednesday to reverse its designation by Florida officials as a terrorist group.

'Florida's new law has profoundly disturbing parallels to authoritarian states.'

"This morning, a federal court upheld Florida's Domestic Terrorist Organization law and rejected CAIR's attempt to stop the designations. Great win by our Solicitor General's office and for the people of Florida!" Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier posted on social media Thursday.

CAIR says it will appeal the case.

CAIR-Florida executive director Hiba Rahim said in a statement that the group was "heartbroken" to have to shut down.

"Florida's new law has profoundly disturbing parallels to authoritarian states, in which political leaders silence and punish dissent without due process," Rahim wrote.

"Governor DeSantis and other officials have unilaterally branded Muslim nonprofits as 'terrorist' with devastating consequences for our rights, our supporters, and the communities we serve. CAIR-Florida categorically rejects Florida officials' baseless designation of us," Rahim continued.

Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) offered a brief statement about the ruling.

"Florida is holding CAIR accountable," he wrote on social media.

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"The unprecedented notion that Governor DeSantis has the power to punish an American civil rights organization for its speech and unilaterally force the closure of its doors without due process is an affront to the Constitution," reads a statement from CAIR national deputy director Edward Ahmed Mitchell.

"We look forward to appealing this initial ruling so that we can protect the rights of everyone in the State of Florida," he added.

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EXPOSED: Who did this Islamic terrorist organization just endorse in Texas?



Certain candidates across the country are earning the support of the Council on American-Islamic Relations — and they all have one thing in common.

BlazeTV host Sara Gonzales points out that the organization “has been designated a foreign terrorist organization by the governor’s office here in the state of Texas,” because “their goals are to forcibly impose Sharia law and establish Islam’s mastership of the world.”

“They’ve made it entirely clear. When your goal is to forcibly impose Sharia law, you, as it turns out, are incompatible with the Western world, definitely incompatible with the United States,” Gonzales says.

“In the meantime, CAIR, I guess, wanted all of its terrorist-adjacent supporters who can vote in the midterms to know who to vote for. They wanted to send out a friendly voter’s guide. And just to give you an idea, because every organization that is able to give endorsements obviously has a position on specific policies, they obviously are advocating for something,” she explains, before revealing their “policy positions” on their website.

“Since 9/11 the Muslim Community has been an easy target for Civil Rights abuses. CAIR Action works to ensure that Civil Rights abuses no longer occur,” CAIR’s website says.

“So our people killed over 3,000 innocent Americans, but let us explain how we’re the victims here,” Gonzales comments.

Another policy platform, CAIR’s website says, is “ending national security overreach.”

“The National FBI watchlist, no-fly lists, and other forms of security overreach have targeted and undermined our community’s [sic] time and time again. CAIR Action aims to restore these fundamental constitutional rights,” it reads.

“Is the FBI putting you on a watch list and the no-fly list and all these other lists because you’re a member of the community, or are they just responding to members of the community’s terrorist ties?” Gonzales asks.

“If we’re all being honest, I think we all know which one of those options it is,” she adds.

Gonzales then shares another policy platform on the website: “We support free speech in all spheres of our lives, especially within our education system.”

“We will work to ensure that our constitutional rights are also protected within our schools,” the website reads.

“If you’re living in the state of Texas and you’re paying attention to the Islamic conquest, we know exactly what that translation is. It’s just taking over our schools with Muslim prayer rooms where they get to leave class multiple times a day and go pray to Allah,” Gonzales says.

CAIR also released a nationwide endorsement list of candidates.

“At the top of the list here in the state of Texas, we have, of course, James Talarico as the preferred candidate for the terrorist organization CAIR. Wow. Big shocker there,” Gonzales says.

“You see, Ken Paxton has been extremely outspoken about stopping Sharia and the Islamic takeover. He’s actually used his office as attorney general to go after some of the things that they are doing that are outside the scope of, you know, legal anything,” she continues.

“In fact, what you will find as you scroll through this list of preferred and endorsed candidates, you will find that it’s the Democrats. These are the Democrats. The Democrats are CAIR’s preferred candidates,” she adds.

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Man faces 6 felony hate crime charges over alleged threats to Muslim women wearing hijabs



An Illinois man allegedly pretended to threaten to shoot a group of Muslim women and allegedly made derogatory remarks before getting arrested by police.

One of the women said she was trying to enter the park at Lake Opeka in Des Plaines when a man confronted her and insulted her, a police report said.

The police report said he told the women to leave the US and demanded one woman remove her face covering.

He tried to get between her and the park, but she walked around him and joined the group, Des Plaines police said.

The man approached the group at the playground and reached for his waistband to make it appear as if he had a weapon, police claimed. He allegedly pointed at them as though he had a gun and threatened to shoot the women.

"[He] told the women that they looked like Muslim 'monkeys' and 'ninjas' and that they needed to leave the country," the police report stated.

The police report noted that the women were wearing hijabs and long sleeves at the time. The police report said he told the women to leave the U.S. and demanded one woman remove her face covering.

Police later identified the man as 44-year-old Matthew R. Kindle, and he was arrested after they witnessed him yelling at another person.

He allegedly made comments referring to "white power" and allegedly made more derogatory comments about the women while he was detained. According to the report, Kindle identified himself as a white Christian and claimed to be half German and half Italian.

Kindle also claimed to police that "a group of women approached him and made a derogatory comment towards him," the police report said.

The Cook County State’s Attorney's Office approved a slew of charges against Kindle that included three felony counts of disorderly conduct/hate crime and three felony counts of aggravated assault/hate crime.

He was also charged with misdemeanor counts that included aggravated assault, disorderly conduct, and resisting a peace officer.

Kindle had previously been charged for domestic battery in 2019 after allegedly beating and kicking a woman.

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simpson33/Getty Images

The Council on American-Islamic Relations applauded the hate crime charges.

"No one should ever have to fear for their safety, let alone face threats of gun violence and white supremacist bigotry, while simply walking or spending time in a public community park," reads the statement from CAIR-Chicago executive director Ahmed Rehab.

"Law enforcement have a duty to take action against hate with a swift response and pursue appropriate felony hate crime charges in this alarming case," he added. "Bigotry-fueled harassment targeting women based on their faith and appearance is a direct threat to the safety and fabric of our communities. We stand in full solidarity with the victims and will continue monitoring this case to ensure that justice is fully served.”

State Rep. Justin Cochran, a Democrat, called the incident "sickening" and addressed the alleged victims, according to Journal & Topics.

"I will say this to my neighbors directly: You belong here," he said. "That is your park, this is your city, your district as much as it is anyone's."

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Islamic sports event tied to designated terrorist group prompts Gov. Abbott to put pressure on Texas school district



Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) is taking action in response to a public school district's alleged plan to use its facilities for an event sponsored by a designated foreign terrorist organization, according to a letter obtained by Blaze News.

The Islamic Games Houston 2026 is scheduled to be held in Cypress, Texas, in September or October, according to the event's website. The event will feature several competitive sports, including basketball, soccer, a charity run, track, and swimming.

'Texans expect immediate action to curb the spread of Islamic extremism, and public facilities funded by their tax dollars will not be utilized to benefit terrorist organizations.'

While the event webpage notes that the date and location of the games are still being determined, it features an aerial map of Sprague Middle School and Bridgeland High School, unified campuses in the Cypress Fairbanks Independent School District. The map of the schools' properties indicates where attendees can enter, register, pray, grab food, and participate in the various sporting events.

According to an archived version of the Islamic Games Houston 2025, Bridgeland High School and Sprague Middle School hosted the games last year.

The website previously listed the Council on American-Islamic Relations' New Jersey chapter as a sponsor but has since removed the organization's logo. Abbott designated CAIR and the Muslim Brotherhood as foreign terrorist and transnational criminal organizations in November. CAIR has pushed back against the governor's designation.

On Wednesday afternoon, Abbott's office sent a letter to the Cypress Fairbanks Independent School District demanding it “immediately preserve all records and communications concerning this event.”

“You must confirm with my office within seven days of receiving this letter that any negotiations or agreements for this event have been terminated. If you fail to do so, I will direct the Texas Education Agency to immediately seize and uncover any communications direct employees may have regarding CAIR, any attempts to conceal CAIR’s involvement, and any agreements or financial statements related to the proposed event,” Abbott wrote.

He stated that he would also direct the Texas Education Agency to refer any of its findings to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton for possible legal action.

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Photo by John Greim/LightRocket via Getty Images

In the letter to the school district, Abbott accused CAIR-NJ of praising "Hamas' slaughter of innocent civilians."

"You cannot invite such dangers through the front doors of our schools. In fact, state law requires public schools to prohibit illegal activities from taking place on school property. It is obvious, then, that you may not use taxpayer-funded public facilities to host events sponsored by a designated terror organization. To do so would violate your duty to taxpayers and the safety of students. Radical Islamic extremism is not welcome in Texas — and certainly not in our schools," Abbott wrote.

"Texans deserve immediate action to curb the spread of Islamic extremism, and public facilities funded by their tax dollars will not be utilized to host terrorist related groups,” he added.

The Islamic Games’ website also indicated that it was slated to host the 2026 Dallas event at a school within the Grapevine-Colleyville Independent School District on May 9 and 10. However, the district told Blaze News that the reservation for the facility "was still in negotiation review and not yet finalized."

"On January 19, GCISD was made aware that an organization listed as a sponsor of the Islamic Games in North Texas has been declared a Terrorist Organization by the Governor of Texas. Texas Government Code § 2252.152 states that, '[a] governmental entity may not enter into a governmental contract with a company identified as a foreign terrorist organization,'" Nicole Lyons, GCISD's executive director of communications, told Blaze News.

"Thus, GCISD provided notice that it is severing the negotiations for the use of District properties for the 2026 Islamic Games," Lyons added.

Abbott’s letter to CFISD noted that GCISD “rightfully” announced it had severed negotiations and encouraged CFISD to do the same.

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A spokesperson with CAIR-NJ told Blaze News that its chapter "fully supports" the Islamic Games but noted that the group typically sponsors the events held in New Jersey.

"This one is outside of our state," the spokesperson stated.

The Islamic Games have upcoming events outside Texas, including in New Jersey, Ontario, Illinois, Maryland, and Michigan.

CFISD and the Islamic Games did not respond to a request for comment.

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