(RNS) — A federal judge blocked Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ move to designate a Muslim civil rights organization as a terrorist group in the state, calling the governor’s attempt politically motivated and unconstitutional.
Two months ago, DeSantis, a Republican, issued an executive order declaring the Council on American-Islamic Relations, one of the largest Muslim civil rights groups in the United States, as a foreign terrorist organization and directed Florida agencies to deny government benefits to CAIR or those who support it. The group and its state chapter then sued DeSantis in federal court.
Mark E. Walker, U.S. district judge for the Northern District of Florida, ruled on Wednesday (March 4) that the executive order violated the organization’s First Amendment rights.
“Once again, Florida chooses political posturing over the First Amendment,” Walker wrote in his ruling.
Alex Lanfranconi, DeSantis’ communications director, criticized the judge, writing in an X post: “Judicial ethics bars a federal district judge from continuing the troubling trend of using his judicial office to make a political statement at the expense of a party before him.”
The court’s injunction allows CAIR-Florida to continue its work without government retaliation wh …