A prominent Muslim advocacy organization is taking Texas to court, arguing that Gov. Greg Abbott’s decision to brand it a “foreign terrorist organization” tramples both the U.S. Constitution and state law.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations’ (CAIR) Dallas-Fort Worth and Austin chapters filed a federal lawsuit Thursday seeking to overturn Abbott’s proclamation issued earlier in the week.

“This attempt to punish the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization simply because Governor Abbott disagrees with its views is not only contrary to the United States Constitution, but finds no support in any Texas law,” the group said in its lawsuit.

Founded in 1994, CAIR operates 25 chapters nationwide, including a small Texas staff of eight employees and two contractors, according to the filing.

TEXAS GOV ABBOTT DECLARES CAIR, MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD AS TERRORIST GROUPS, PREVENTING LAND PURCHASES

“CAIR-Texas and the Texas Muslim community are standing up for our constitutional rights by directly confronting Greg Abbott’s lawless attack on our civil rights,” CAIR-Texas said in a statement. “We are not and will not be intimidated by smear campaigns launched by Israel First politicians like Mr. Abbott. Mr. Abbott is defaming us and other American Muslims because we are effective advocates for justice here and abroad. We plan to continue exercising our constitutional rights, defending civil rights, and speaking truth to power, whether in defense of free speech, religious freedom and racial equality here in Texas or in defense of human rights abroad.”

Abbott’s order extended the “terrorist” label to the Muslim Brotherhood, even though federal authorities have never classified either group that way.

The governor’s decree also bars CAIR from purchasing land in the Lone Star State under a new statute aimed at curbing purchases tied to “foreign adversaries.”

The group’s filing contends Abbott relied on “inflammatory statements with no basis in fact,” selectively citing remarks by affiliates to paint CAIR as sympathetic to terrorism.

“The lawsuit we have filed today is our first step towards defeating Governor Abbott again so that our nation protects free speech and due process for all Americans,” CAIR Litigation Director and General Counsel Lena Masri said in a statement. “No civil rights organizations are safe if a governor can baselessly and unilaterally declare any of them terrorist groups, ban them from buying land, and threaten them with closure. We have beaten Greg Abbott’s attacks on the First Amendment before, and God willing, we will do it again now.”

The Muslim Legal Fund of America also said it is “proud to defend the constitutional rights of CAIR-Texas and the right of all Texans to engage in free speech and uphold civil rights without facing lawless and defamatory attacks by Greg Abbott.”

“Mr. Abbott’s unconstitutional proclamation undermines the very foundational notions of due process that our system depends upon and it must not stand,” said Muslim Legal Fund of America attorney Charlie Swift. “For the sake of our nation’s basic freedoms, Greg Abbott’s latest attack on the American people must be defeated.”

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Earlier this year, Texas Republicans sought to stop a Muslim-centered planned community around one of the state’s largest mosques near Dallas.

Abbott and other Republican state officials opened investigations into the development linked to the East Plano Islamic Center (EPIC), claiming the group is attempting to create a Muslim-exclusive community that would implement Islamic law.

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EPIC City representatives called the attacks alleging Islamic law misleading, dangerous and without basis.

The U.S. Justice Department closed a federal civil rights investigation into the planned community without bringing any charges or lawsuits.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Two Texas men have been charged in an alleged plot to invade a Haitian island, kill its male residents and enslave the women and children as their “sex slaves,” federal prosecutors announced Thursday.

Gavin Rivers Weisenburg, 21, of Allen, and Tanner Christopher Thomas, 20, of Argyle, were indicted on charges of conspiracy to murder, maim or kidnap in a foreign country and production of child pornography, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Texas.

“Weisenburg and Thomas intended to murder all of the men on the island so that they could then turn all of the women and children into their sex slaves,” federal prosecutors allege.

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Between August 2024 and July 2025, Weisenburg and Thomas allegedly planned to take over Gonave Island “to carry out their rape fantasies,” court documents state.

They intended to buy a sailboat, guns and ammunition and recruit members from Washington, D.C.’s homeless community to “serve as a mercenary force as they invaded Gonave Island and staged a coup d’état,” prosecutors said.

Authorities allege the pair took steps to prepare for the invasion, including learning Haitian Creole, attempting to recruit others and enrolling in schools to gain skills that would help them carry out the invasion.

Thomas even joined the U.S. Air Force to receive relevant military training, according to prosecutors.

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In addition to the alleged invasion plan, both men are accused of producing child pornography.

Gonave Island, located in the Gulf of Gonave, has a population of roughly 100,000, according to La Gonave Haiti Partners.

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If convicted, Weisenburg and Thomas each face up to life in federal prison for the conspiracy charge. The child pornography charge carries between 15 and 30 years in federal prison.

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The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Texas did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Texas on Friday filed an emergency petition with the U.S. Supreme Court after a ruling by a panel of federal judges blocked the state from using its redrawn congressional map, calling it “racially gerrymandered.”

Shortly after filing the petition, Justice Samuel Alito issued an administrative stay, temporarily putting the lower panel’s decision blocking Texas’ new maps on hold.

The state asked the high court for an administrative stay on the lower court ruling, noting Texas has an “election already in progress,” referring to congressional primary elections in March.

The Supreme Court most recently blocked lower court rulings related to redistricting cases in Louisiana and Alabama.

Texas redrew its congressional map last summer in a President Donald Trump-backed effort that could help Republicans gain five seats in next year’s midterms.

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U.S. District Judge Jeffrey V. Brown, a Trump appointee, joined by U.S. District Judge David Guaderrama, an Obama appointee, in the majority ruling said, “The public perception of this case is that it’s about politics.

“To be sure, politics played a role in drawing the 2025 map,” the judges said. “But it was much more than just politics. Substantial evidence shows that Texas racially gerrymandered the 2025 map.”

Judge Jerry Smith, a Reagan appointee and the third of the three-judge panel, dissented without explanation.

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The ruling was a significant blow to the Trump administration. It comes as Trump and his Republican allies have raced to pad the party’s razor-thin House majority in the run-up to the 2026 midterm elections, including by imploring some states to launch rare, mid-decade redistricting efforts. 

Missouri, North Carolina and Ohio have redrawn their congressional maps as well, and other states like Florida and Kansas are weighing similar efforts.

Democratic states are also considering redrawing their maps to counteract Republican efforts.

Most prominently, California voters approved by a wide margin earlier this month a plan to redistrict the state in an effort that could wipe out Texas’ new map.

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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton vowed on Tuesday to appeal to the Supreme Court.

“For years, Democrats have engaged in partisan redistricting intended to eliminate Republican representation,” Paxton said. “But when Republicans respond in kind, Democrats rely on false accusations of racism to secure a partisan advantage.”