This is not a close call. It is not a gray area. And it is not a question of legislative intent.
Florida’s antisemitism law — authored by then–state Rep. Randy Fine, now a member of Congress, and signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis — is constitutionally defective at its core.
The irony is hard to ignore. The same lawmaker who pushed this measure as a response to hatred has a long and well-documented history of directing hostile, demeaning, and inflammatory rhetoric toward another Semitic community: Muslim Americans and Arab Muslims.
What follows are documented examples of statements and actions by Rep. Fine that have been widely reported as anti-Muslim or Islamophobic. Civil rights organizations, Muslim advocacy groups, Democrats, and even some Jewish leaders have condemned these remarks as bigoted and dangerous.
A Pattern of Anti-Muslim Rhetoric
1. Advocating violence against “mainstream Muslims”
During a December 2025 congressional hearing, Fine said, “I think you destroy them first,” referring to people he broadly characterized as Muslims who allegedly seek destruction. Critics interpreted the remark as an endorsement of violence against Muslims as a group.
2. Calls for a Muslim travel ban and mass deportations
Following a terror attack overseas, Fine wrote on social media that the United States should impose a Muslim travel ban, deport Muslim immigrants — including legal residents — and revoke citizenship “wherever possible.” He added that “mainstream Muslims have declared
war on us.”
3. Smearing a Muslim member of Congress
Fine publicly referred to Rep. Ilhan Omar as a “Muslim terrorist,” a remark that drew bipartisan condemnation as an Islamophobic attack on a sitting member of Congress.
4. Attacking Zohran Mamdani
Fine labeled New York political figure Zohran Mamdani “little more than a Muslim terrorist” and said his citizenship should be stripped, adding that he should be deported to “the Ugandan s---hole he came from.”
5. Broadly equating Islam with violence
Fine has repeatedly made sweeping claims portraying Muslims as radicals and asserting that Islam itself requires reform, language critics say paints an entire faith community as inherently suspect.
6. A long trail of inflammatory remarks
Civil rights observers have also cited years of social media posts and public comments in which Fine:
- Referred to America’s “#MuslimProblem.”
- Mocked people wearing keffiyehs as sporting a “terrorist rag.”
- Called for Palestinian organizations to be labeled terrorist groups.
- Suggested extreme or even nuclear violence against Palestinian populations in Gaza.
Following these remarks, advocacy groups such as CAIR labeled Fine an “anti-Muslim extremist.”
A Law That Collides With the First Amendment
Against that backdrop, Florida’s antisemitism law runs head-first into the First Amendment. When it reaches federal court — not if, but when — it will not survive.
The reason is simple: the Constitution does not permit the government to regulate political ideas, no matter how noble the stated purpose.
Courts Do Not Defer to Moral Justifications
Legislatures often claim that speech restrictions are necessary for safety, dignity, or social harmony. Federal courts are unmoved by those arguments.
The Supreme Court has repeatedly ruled that the government may not suppress speech because it dislikes the message or fears its consequences. Political speech receives the highest level of constitutional protection. Any law burdening it is subject to strict scrutiny — a test that almost always proves fatal.
Florida’s statute does not merely punish criminal conduct. Existing laws already do that. Instead, it codifies a political definition of antisemitism that incorporates examples tied to criticism of Israel.
That choice is decisive — and fatal.
Codifying Ideology Is Viewpoint Discrimination
Once the state embeds a political definition into law, it abandons neutrality. The law becomes an instrument of viewpoint discrimination.
By incorporating the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition into statute, Florida places constitutionally protected speech — protest, boycott, academic critique, and advocacy — under suspicion. It signals to public institutions that certain viewpoints are dangerous.
Federal courts strike down laws that create a chilling effect. They do not wait for mass prosecutions. If people self-censor because the boundaries are unclear, the law is unconstitutional.
Vagueness Is a Constitutional Defect
The First Amendment does not tolerate vague laws.
A statute that forces citizens to guess whether their political speech might be punished is unconstitutional on its face. Florida’s law delegates ideological judgment to administrators — not judges — in classrooms, universities, and public institutions.
Courts are especially hostile to laws that allow bureaucrats to decide which ideas cross the line.
Viewpoint Discrimination Guarantees Defeat
The Supreme Court has called viewpoint discrimination “an egregious form of content discrimination.” Florida’s law cannot escape that label.
While the statute claims not to ban criticism of Israel, courts look at practical effect, not disclaimers. If criticism is treated as evidence of bias while praise is not, the law fails. Full stop.
Where the Law Will Collapse
Public universities will be the breaking point.
The Supreme Court has long held that academic freedom is a core First Amendment concern. Universities may not enforce political orthodoxy. The first time a student, professor, or organization is investigated under this statute, the case will be over before it begins.
Federal judges will not hesitate.
Here is how the analysis will unfold:
- Does the law burden political speech? Yes.
- Does it invite viewpoint discrimination? Yes.
- Is it narrowly tailored to a compelling interest? No.
- Does it chill lawful expression? Yes.
That ends the inquiry.
This Is a Warning, Not a Theory
Every major attempt to regulate political expression in the name of combating hate has failed once tested in federal court. This law will be no different.
Florida could have addressed antisemitism by enforcing existing criminal laws, funding education, and protecting institutions — without touching speech. Instead, it chose to legislate ideology.
That choice guarantees defeat.
The First Amendment does not negotiate. It does not bend to moral urgency. Any law that conditions free speech on political approval is unconstitutional from birth.
Florida’s antisemitism law will collapse in federal court — not because antisemitism should be tolerated, but because the government has no authority to decide which political ideas are acceptable.
That is the price of a free society. And it is a price the Constitution has demanded, relentlessly, for more than two centuries.
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