Fla. AG Uthmeier to Newsmax: State Proactive Against Sharia

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier told Newsmax Wednesday that he's proud of a new state law that he said is aimed at preventing sharia from being applied in Florida.

"As always, Florida leads the way," Uthmeier, a Republican, told "American Agenda."

"The governor signed this week a bill that makes sure we're never going to operate under the authority of sharia law here in Florida — not in our courts, not in our local governments, not controlling contracts, or in our schools."

Uthmeier said it's an upfront way to deal with a serious issue.

"It's important here for us to always be proactive to recognize that we do have a surge of Muslims in this country that are pushing sharia law, trying to influence our kids, and trying to educate the undermining of our Republican ideals ... trying to attack Western civilization."

He said that level of influence cannot be allowed to take hold.

"This is wrong, and we're going to keep fighting it."

Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a measure into law Monday that gives him and other Florida leaders the ability to label groups as domestic or foreign terrorist organizations and expel state university students who support them.

The law 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.

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.

DeSantis on Monday posted on X about the new law, sharing a graphic titled "Banning Sharia Law" outlining some of the measure's provisions.

"To uphold the rule of law, our state must operate under one legal system, the Constitution must remain the law of the land, and we must defend our institutions from those who would harm us — especially terrorist organizations that seek to infiltrate and subvert our education system," DeSantis wrote.

Uthmeier said that with Florida now supporting school choice programs, safeguards are needed to prevent improper use of state education funding.

"It's working out very well for students, but we don't want those funds going to Muslim schools that might be teaching sharia law in the classroom," he said.

"This is a danger to our republic," Uthmeier said. "It's a danger to our students.

"We're going to investigate. And where the state identifies that nonprofit groups and schools might be tied to terrorist organizations, we're going to shut down their opportunity to get many privileges here in the state of Florida."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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