TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed an executive order on Monday, newly designating two groups as foreign terrorist organizations (FTOs).
To start with, the order expressly labels the Society of Muslim Brothers (i.e. “Muslim Brotherhood”) as an FTO, pointing to the group’s “long history” of supporting violence, including political assassinations and civilian terror attacks.
The order also references the Muslim Brotherhood’s creation of Hamas, which was labelled a FTO by the United States in 1997. More recently, Hamas has been determined to have murdered over 1,200 people in Israel during an attack in October 2023.
[BELOW: Florida governor calls for A.I. bill of rights]
“Muslim Brotherhood chapters in the Middle East joined attacks against Israel with, or otherwise provided material support to, Hamas, Hezbollah, and other Palestinian groups,” the order reads.
Meanwhile, DeSantis’ order also designates the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) as a FTO, claiming that CAIR was founded in 1994 by the Palestine Committee — an organization affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood to reportedly support Hamas in the U.S.
EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) December 8, 2025
Florida is designating the Muslim Brotherhood and the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) as foreign terrorist organizations.
Florida agencies are hereby directed to undertake all lawful measures to prevent unlawful activities by these… pic.twitter.com/2s48yYfEg7
Per its website, CAIR touts itself as a “Washington-based Islamic advocacy group” dedicated to protecting the civil rights of Muslim Americans.
However, the executive order says that individuals associated with CAIR have been convicted of providing and conspiring to provide “material support to designated terrorist organizations.”
“Florida agencies are hereby directed to undertake all lawful measures to prevent unlawful activities by these organizations, including denying privileges or resources to anyone providing material support,” DeSantis wrote.
DeSantis’ order comes just two weeks after President Donald Trump issued his own executive order setting up a process to designate certain Muslim Brotherhood chapters as FTOs, particularly those in Lebanon, Egypt and Jordan.
Meanwhile, DeSantis said his recent order took effect immediately upon his signing.