TAMPA, Fla. \u2014 Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a measure into law Monday that gives him along with other Florida leaders the ability to label groups as domestic or foreign terrorist organizations and expel state university students who support them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The law, criticized by free speech advocates, allows a top official at the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to designate a group as a domestic or foreign terrorist organization, with the governor and three other members of the Florida Cabinet approving or rejecting the designation. Besides the governor, the Cabinet is made up of the state attorney general, the chief financial officer and the agriculture commissioner, all of whom are elected separately.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Once designated a terrorist organization, a group can be dissolved and it can no longer receive any state funding through school districts or state agencies. Universities also would have to report the status of expelled students attending on visas to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSo this will help the state of Florida protect you. It\u2019ll help us protect your tax dollars,\u201d DeSantis said at a news conference in Tampa. \u201cIt\u2019ll help us protect things that should not be happening in the United States of America, but certainly shouldn\u2019t be happening in the free state of Florida.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
DeSantis last December designated the Council on American-Islamic Relations and the Muslim Brotherhoods as foreign terrorist organizations. A federal judge last month temporarily blocked the enforcement of DeSantis\u2019 executive order.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
PEN America, a free speech advocacy group, said the new law has vague language that could restrict education programs deemed to be \u201cpromoting\u201d terrorism and that it could target student protesters who criticize Florida officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The new law \u201ccould chill education at every level,\u201d said William Johnson, PEN America\u2019s Florida director. \u201cThe implications are fraught.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n