Attorney-General Ken Paxton announced on Tuesday on X/Twitter that he is taking legal action in the lawsuit involving the terrorist organization CAIR.
The A-G has taken the action to "defend Texas's lawful designation of the Muslim Brotherhood and the Council on American-Islamic Relations or ('CAIR') as foreign terrorist organization under Texas law," as reported in Paxton's original released document.
The designation was established in a proclamation on November 18, when Governor Greg Abbott declared the Muslim Brotherhood and CAIR as "foreign terrorist organizations" and "transitional criminal organizations."
Following the release of this proclamation last month, the Dallas-Fort Worth and Austin chapters of CAIR filed a lawsuit against the State.
The claim in the lawsuit argued that the proclamation has allegedly "chilled" their First Amendment right to "freedom of speech," a topic that has been legally debated in relation to organizations designated as terrorist entities.
Following CAIR's response, the Attorney-General's office filed a reply in December, "noting in part that the local CAIR councils rely entirely on speculative claims and political disagreement with the State's national security determinations and laws, leaving their argument baseless."
Paxton personally responded to CAIR's statement by saying that Radical Islamist groups should be considered as anti-American, and that the infiltration of their "dangerous" members into Texas needs to be stopped.
In addition, the Attorney-General stated that his office would continue to defend Texas's lawful declaration that placed CAIR as a foreign terrorist organization. He also highlighted that Texas has the right to "protect itself from organizations with documented ties to foreign extremist movements."
According to the document, CAIR had also been "labelled by an FBI special agent as a 'front group for Hamas.'"
Florida recognizes CAIR as a foreign terrorist organization
On December 8, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis issued an executive order naming CAIR and the Muslim Brotherhood as foreign terrorist organizations, announcing the decision and publishing the order on X/Twitter.
"Florida is designating the Muslim Brotherhood and the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) as foreign terrorist organizations," DeSantis wrote.
According to the executive order, the state alleges that both organizations have ties to anti-Israel groups, including Hamas, Hezbollah, and other Palestinian organizations.
Fraidy Moser contributed to this report.