Ron Desantis said Florida will use HB 1471 to seek terrorist designations for more than 90 groups, including the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the Muslim Brotherhood and Antifa. The announcement came on Wednesday, the same day the law took effect and the state started moving under its new authority.
The proposal is not final yet. Under HB 1471, the governor and Florida Cabinet must approve or reject the designations before they are published in the Florida Administrative Register.
HB 1471 and Florida
DeSantis said, "Last December, I signed an Executive Order to eliminate the influence of radical terrorist ideologies and the organizations that promote them in Florida." He added, "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."
He also said, "Today, we are officially designating terrorist organizations under Florida law." In the same statement, he said, "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."
Chief of Domestic Security
HB 1471 gives the Chief of Domestic Security the authority to designate qualifying organizations as domestic or foreign terrorist organizations. The statute then sends those designations to the governor and Cabinet, who may approve or reject them by majority vote before publication.
That sequence leaves Florida with a two-step process: a designation can be proposed under the statute, but it does not become final until the elected branch acts. For the groups named on Wednesday, the practical question is which of the more than 90 proposals will clear that vote.
Mark Glass and Florida
Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Mark Glass said, "Keeping our community safe starts with identifying the threat." He added, "The safety of our community is strengthened by that knowledge every day, and reinforced by the collaboration between our officers, our federal partners, and—most importantly, the people we serve."
The announcement ties the new law to a formal state process, but the list still depends on approval from the governor and Florida Cabinet before any designations take effect in the Florida Administrative Register. For Florida, the next step is not another announcement; it is a vote on which names stay on the list.
