The FBI bugged a Philadelphia hotel room in 1993 and recorded CAIR's own founder plotting with Hamas.
That recording is now Exhibit A in a Florida courtroom.
And FBI evidence proves Ron DeSantis was right about CAIR.
What the FBI Actually Found
CAIR founder Nihad Awad didn't stumble into that Philadelphia hotel room by accident.
FBI Special Agent Lara Burns testified under oath at the Holy Land Foundation trial that CAIR "was formed in the aftermath of a 1993 meeting by Palestinian activists in America who brainstormed ways to spread pro-Hamas messages here without attracting too much attention."
That trial – the largest terrorism financing prosecution in American history – convicted five leaders of the Holy Land Foundation for funneling $12.4 million to Hamas.
CAIR was listed as an unindicted co-conspirator.
The federal judge overseeing the case found the government presented "ample evidence to establish" CAIR's ties to Hamas.
Ghassan Elashi, a founding board member of CAIR's Texas chapter, was sentenced to 65 years in federal prison for providing material support to Hamas.
https://twitter.com/ACTBrigitte/status/2049813982765003072?s=20
Documents introduced at trial showed the Holy Land Foundation transferred funds directly to CAIR for "consulting services."
After the verdict, the FBI cut off all formal contact with CAIR – every field office, every chapter, nationwide.
In a 2009 letter to U.S. Senator Jon Kyl, FBI Assistant Director Richard Powers wrote that the bureau would not view CAIR "as an appropriate liaison partner" until it could "resolve whether there continues to be a connection between CAIR or its executives and HAMAS."
That resolution never came.
What Awad Said About October 7
Thirty years after that Philadelphia meeting, CAIR's executive director confirmed exactly what the FBI was worried about.
Awad told a crowd at the American Muslims for Palestine convention in November 2023 that he was "happy to see people breaking the siege and throwing down the shackles of their own land."
He was talking about October 7.
The day Hamas murdered 1,200 Israelis – burning families alive, raping women, taking children hostage – was, to CAIR's top official, a cause for happiness.
The White House condemned the comments, calling them "shocking, antisemitic statements" in the strongest terms.
https://twitter.com/GOP_is_Gutless/status/2056194525962351092?s=20
Democrat Senator Ruben Gallego called them "despicable."
CAIR's Awad claimed his words were taken out of context.
The FBI recording from 1993 shows it was a thirty-year pattern – not a slip.
DeSantis Acted and Now a Rogue Judge Is Blocking Him
In December, Governor DeSantis signed an executive order designating CAIR and the Muslim Brotherhood as terrorist organizations – barring state agencies from giving either group contracts, employment, or a dime of public money.
Florida AG James Uthmeier took the case to the Eleventh Circuit, arguing the order "simply designates terrorist organizations in an effort to keep state resources from those designated entities and their material supporters."
He's right.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott made the same designation.
Multiple U.S. senators have called for federal action.
The United Arab Emirates – a formal American ally – put CAIR on its terrorism list in 2014.
But U.S. District Judge Mark Walker blocked DeSantis's order, writing that "Florida chooses political posturing over the First Amendment" – the same judge whose removal DeSantis and Uthmeier are now demanding, citing six separate statements demonstrating Walker's bias against Florida officials.
https://twitter.com/JohnCassietto/status/2057089434781446200?s=20
DeSantis signed HB 1471 into law in April, allowing state officials to designate domestic terrorist organizations and banning state funds from institutions affiliated with designated groups.
The left is furious.
Good.
What This Actually Is
CAIR calls itself a civil rights organization.
The FBI cut ties with it because of unresolved connections to a designated terrorist organization.
A federal jury sent its founding board member to prison for 65 years for funding Hamas.
A federal judge found "ample evidence" of its ties to Hamas.
Its own executive director called October 7 a day that made him happy.
DeSantis looked at all of that and called it what it is.
A liberal judge blocked him – for now.
Florida taxpayers were one judge's signature away from being forced to hand contracts and government jobs to an organization whose founder plotted with Hamas in a bugged hotel room, whose top official cheered the murder of 1,200 Israelis, and whose founding board member is serving 65 years in federal prison for funding terrorism.
DeSantis said no.
A liberal judge overruled him.
The Eleventh Circuit gets the next call – and when they see thirty years of FBI evidence, the answer should be obvious.
Sources:
- "FBI Cuts Ties With CAIR Following Terror Financing Trial," Fox News, 2009.
- "Video Emerges of CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad 'Happy' at October 7 Terror Attack," Breitbart, December 2023.
- "White House Condemns CAIR Director's Recent Comments About Oct. 7 Attack," The Hill, December 2023.
- Lorenzo Vidino, "The Hamas Networks in America: A Short History," George Washington University Program on Extremism, October 2023.
- "FBI Explains Its CAIR Cut Off," Investigative Project on Terrorism, May 2009.
- "DeSantis Signs Bill Allowing State Officials to Issue Domestic 'Terrorist' Designations," Florida Phoenix, April 6, 2026.
