DeSantis Signs Florida Terror‑Designation Law Targeting 'Jihad' and Campus Support

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday signed HB 1471, a law creating a state process for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to designate 'domestic terrorist organizations,' cut them off from public funding, and penalize public universities that support such groups. Standing behind a sign denouncing Sharia law, DeSantis said Florida would spend 'millions for public safety, millions for education, but never one red cent for jihad,' and the statute explicitly reaffirms that Florida courts cannot enforce any foreign or religious law, including Sharia. The measure requires state universities to forfeit public funds if they show support for an FDLE‑designated terrorist group and mandates expulsion of students who promote those organizations, echoing DeSantis’ broader efforts to tie higher‑education policy to national‑security and culture‑war themes in the wake of Oct. 7 and pro‑Palestinian campus protests. The ACLU of Florida blasted the law as 'dangerous,' arguing it lets the government unilaterally label individuals and organizations as domestic terrorists and trigger sweeping consequences without clear standards, transparency or constitutional guardrails, and legal scholars and civil‑liberties advocates on social media are already warning of prolonged First Amendment and due‑process battles over how the state defines 'support' and 'terrorism.'