Judge Hands a Win to Abbott in Lawsuit Over CAIR Terror Designation

A federal judge has given Governor Greg Abbott of Texas a win in his fight against the Council on American-Islamic Relations — ordering the group to hand over information about some donors.Mr. Abbott designated, in November, the Muslim Brotherhood and CAIR as foreign terrorist organizations and transnational criminal organizations. His order also banned the groups from buying land in the state and threatened them with closure. Mr. Abbott also demanded information on the group’s donors.CAIR filed a federal lawsuit asking for a protective order to block disclosing its donors. A United States district court judge for the Western District of Texas, Alan D. Albright, issued an order late Wednesday granting part of CAIR’s motion but required the group to produce documents identifying foreign donors who have given $5,000 or more in any single year from 2021 through 2024.CAIR is also required to identify any donors who have given more than $2,500 in a single year over the same period, according to the order. Judge Albright also ordered CAIR to turn over some documents related to foreign travel by the cofounder and executive director of CAIR, Nihad Awad.“Progress in my legal fight against CAIR,” Mr. Abbott said in an X post.CAIR was founded in 1994 and bills itself as a “nonprofit, grassroots civil rights and advocacy organization” for Muslims. The group, however, has long faced scrutiny over alleged ties to terrorism. Mr. Abbott says there is evidence of CAIR members’ affiliations with “terrorism-related activities” and noted that the FBI identified the nonprofit as a “front group” for Hamas in America.CAIR has said it has no links to any foreign entities and most of its donations come from American citizens but the group has faced a number of challenges.Governor Ron DeSantis issued an executive order in December declaring the group a terrorist organization in Florida but a federal judge in Tallahassee issued a temporary injunction that blocks the order. State lawmakers are now working on a bill that would grant the governor the authority to make terror designations.Senator Tom Cotton has also urged the Internal Revenue Service to investigate CAIR for potential violations of its tax-exempt status citing “ties to terror organizations.”

Judge Hands a Win to Abbott in Lawsuit Over CAIR Terror Designation

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