Florida Gov.Ron DeSantis, a Republican, announced on Wednesday the state's intention to use a new state law to designate dozens of groups as terrorist organizations, a move that would still require approval by the Florida Cabinet, prompting legal objections from at least one of the groups.HB 1471 was signed into law earlier this year and went into effect on Wednesday.The governor said the state plans to implement its new statutory authority to "identify, designate, and combat terrorist organizations operating in Florida" in the first use of powers established under the legislation.Florida officials plan to designate more than 90 groups as terrorist organizations, including the Council on American-Islamic Relations the Muslim Brotherhood and Antifa, though the proposed designations must be approved by the governor and Cabinet before they are finalized under the statute.FLORIDA'S CAIR THREATENS LAWSUIT AGAINST DESANTIS AFTER HE LABELS GROUP A 'FOREIGN TERRORIST' ORGANIZATIONThe governor said the state plans to implement its new statutory authority to "identify, designate, and combat terrorist organizations operating in Florida." (Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)"Last December, I signed an Executive Order to eliminate the influence of radical terrorist ideologies and the organizations that promote them in Florida.
This year, I signed legislation to strengthen those protections and give Florida permanent statutory tools to combat terrorism while defending the Constitutional rights of our citizens," DeSantis said in a statement. "Today, we are officially designating terrorist organizations under Florida law.In addition to CAIR and the Muslim Brotherhood, we are adding Antifa to the list—along with more than 90 Foreign Terrorist Organizations, including cartels."However, under HB 1471, the Chief of Domestic Security may designate qualifying organizations as domestic or foreign terrorist organizations, but the governo...