Gadeir Abbas

Attorney of federal law, Activist, Reader of News, & the like

[Gadeir Abbas @gadeirabbas]

A legal brief feds filed against us in Mohamed v. Holder claims that the No Fly List MUST INCLUDE INNOCENT PEOPLE.

[CAIR National @CAIRNational]

Opening remarks from CAIR Deputy Litigation Director Gadeir Abbas at yesterday's press conference announcing CAIR's lawsuit, alongside the Islamic Society of Tulsa, against the City of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, over the denial of a rezoning request for a proposed mosque.

Learn more: https://t.co/iL8b1aSzf5

[CAIR National @CAIRNational]

“@Columbia has become an appendage of the Trump administration,” said CAIR Legal Defense Fund Attorney @gadeirabbas, “This decision is an indication that both will ultimately be held accountable.”
https://t.co/fKbF1Xnk2r

[CAIR National @CAIRNational]

BREAKING: after a week-long jury trial in federal court, CAIR Legal Defense Fund and our co-counsel Margolis & Cross have won a historic $667,000 verdict for our clients: Muslim converts in a Missouri prison who were beaten and pepper sprayed by prison guards for praying together.

“This is a well-deserved victory for these men who were brutalized and punished for simply seeking to get closer to God,” said Ahmad Kaki, staff attorney at CAIR National. “The Missouri Department of Corrections now must pay for its failure to treat these men with dignity, as is their right under the Constitution.”

“We are thrilled but unsurprised that the jury awarded our clients a total victory on all of their claims,” said Ian Cross, partner at Margolis and Cross. “We hope the Missouri Department of Corrections learns its lesson, changes its policies, and ensures that guards who brutalize prisoners are held accountable so they won’t repeat their actions in the future.”

Learn more: https://t.co/VXD8oodrkk

[CAIR National @CAIRNational]

VICTORY: CAIR has reached a $195,000 settlement in a religious discrimination case involving Prince George’s County, Maryland, after a qualified Muslim imam was excluded from applying for a jail chaplain position because it was limited to Christians.

The settlement resolves a lawsuit brought on behalf of Imam Dr. Edrees Bridges and includes compensation, an end to the religious requirement, and approval for him to serve as a volunteer chaplain.

The case underscores a basic constitutional principle CAIR has long defended: no one should be excluded from public or government-linked roles because of their faith.

Read more: https://t.co/pLhqrLCGpq

[CAIR National @CAIRNational]

BREAKING: CAIR, Kapitan Gomaa Law, and Hawks Quindel are suing the @universityofky, officials in the University administration at its law school and the Trump Administration’s Department of Education for punishing tenured Professor @RamsiWoodcock over his criticism of Israel.

SEE LAWSUIT: https://t.co/U84tUmxRvE

Rima Kapitan of Kapitan Gomaa Law said:

“This lawsuit implicates the broader purpose of the First Amendment, which is to ensure that students and the public generally are permitted to engage not only with speech that government officials approve of but with speech by citizens and scholars about some of the most important and urgent political and legal questions of our time.”

[CAIR National @CAIRNational]

BREAKING: CAIR Wins Injunction Ordering U. of Missouri to Permit @Mizzou Students for Justice in Palestine into Homecoming Parade https://t.co/9R49Aty9I7

A federal court has ruled in favor of Mizzou Students for Justice in Palestine, granting CAIR’s request for an injunction after the group was barred from the university’s 2025 Homecoming Parade.

The court found the university’s actions unconstitutional, calling the exclusion “viewpoint discrimination.”

CAIR attorneys called the decision “a major victory for the civil rights of all Americans.”

“This is an important victory for the First Amendment and the right of students who support Palestinian human rights to fully participate in campus life,” said CAIR National Executive Director @NihadAwad. “It is long past time for colleges and universities across the country to stop attempting to silence and sideline students critical of the Israeli government’s genocide in Gaza.”

[CAIR National @CAIRNational]

Today, CAIR announced the resolution of a lawsuit over the Mecklenburg County Detention Center Central (MCDCC) and the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) in Charlotte, North Carolina, depriving a Muslim woman of her religious rights by forcing her to remove her Islamic head scarf, or hijab, taking a booking photograph of her without it, and allowing her photo to remain publicly available on its website.

CAIR secured a settlement, including substantive policy changes, on behalf of its client Laila El-Ali.

“This case is about protecting the fundamental right of Muslim women to practice their faith with dignity,” said CAIR Staff Attorney Nadia Bayado. “No one should be forced to choose between their religious beliefs and compliance with law enforcement procedures. The policy changes secured here ensure that what happened to Ms. El-Ali will not happen again, and they reaffirm that constitutional rights do not stop at the jailhouse door.”

Read more: https://t.co/yOX1N56XUO

[The Vanguard @vanguard_pod]

Consequential free speech case begins tomorrow. The University of Missouri President is being sued for violating Students for Justice in Palestine's 1st amendment rights after personally barring their participation in the university's homecoming parade in 2024, while allowing MAGA affiliated groups to participate.

[Jim Sciutto @jimsciutto]

Americans need to decide if they accept students, in the country legally, being arrested and deported for espousing views or taking part in protests the administration opposes. @CAIRNational lawyer @gadeirabbas and I discuss.

[Columbia Palestine Solidarity Coalition (CPSC) @Columbia_psc]

BREAKING: @Columbia University and @BarnardCollege have been SUED by @CAIRNational & @CAIRNewYork. A new lawsuit with Mahmoud Khalil and several other students accuses these schools of ILLEGALLY sharing student records with Congress and third parties.

[CAIR National @CAIRNational]

No more talking. Earlier today, we and our partners filed a federal lawsuit against @Columbia to block the university from further violating the privacy rights and further endangering the safety of our eight clients: Mahmoud Khalil, other Columbia alumni, and current students targeted by the House education committee's ongoing witch hunt.

We stand with our co-counsel at @CAIRNewYork, Dratel & Lewis, and @theIMEU in demanding that Columbia stop turning over confidential student records to the House @EdWorkforceCmte. Its openly anti-Palestinian majority has spent months trying to smear and silence college students in America for the benefit of the Israeli government.

We must, God willing, ensure that Columbia does not comply with this McCarthyist committee's baseless and un-American demands for the private records of students who exercised their First Amendment right to speak out against the genocide in Gaza. #FreeSpeech #FreePalestine #FreeMahmoudKhalil

[CAIR National @CAIRNational]

High-Flying Heroes: The Attorneys Defending Muslim Americans’ Civil Rights https://t.co/JMBzzmOiR2

Yonas Fikre’s journey from being unjustly placed on the No Fly List to a landmark Supreme Court victory highlights the resilience of the Muslim community and the tireless efforts of civil rights attorneys. CAIR is proud to stand with those fighting for justice, due process, and the rights of all Americans. #JusticeForAll #CivilRights

[CAIR National @CAIRNational]

🚨Federal Judge Holds that Punishing the Speech of Palestinian Activists is Unconstitutional 🚨

We filed a suit against @GregAbbott_TX's signing of Executive Order GA-44 in May. The court held that government rules, generally forbidding students from criticizing Israel are unconstitutional!

This is a major win for anti-genocide protestors across the country!

[Gadeir Abbas @gadeirabbas]

“If the First Amendment didn’t protect students who seek to mourn a genocide and educate the public about it, then it’s meaningless,” said Gadeir Abbas, deputy litigation director at CAIR.

Court rules university of Maryland must host vigil on Oct. 7 (https://t.co/od070gtWDb)

[Jameel Jaffer @JameelJaffer]

Federal judge says University of Maryland can't ban Students for Justice in Palestine from hosting a vigil on Oct. 7. A thoughtful opinion and an important First Amendment victory. Link below, w a few excerpts.

[Gadeir Abbas @gadeirabbas]

“There’s nothing like this anywhere in the country,” Abbas said at a post-hearing press conference.

Federal judge hears arguments over UMD’s Oct. 7 event restrictions (https://t.co/h6I6ULZpXs)

[Gadeir Abbas @gadeirabbas]

"The First Amendment has durably stood for the promise that free speech is real," Abbas said. "It’s real if you’re saying something that is unpopular. It’s real if you’re criticizing someone that’s powerful. It’s real, even if the people around you don’t want to hear it."

[ACLU of Texas @ACLUTx]

UPDATE: @CAIRNational has filed a lawsuit to block Gov. Abbott’s executive order that suppresses students’ free speech.

All students — no matter their race or background — deserve to freely express their political opinions without government censorship.
https://t.co/p0aOmIcOgX

[CAIR National @CAIRNational]

Today, we plan to announce the filing of a complaint challenging Greg Abbott’s unlawful executive order targeting student advocates for Palestine.

[Jada Chin @jadachin]

Opinion: Hannah Mullen of @CAIRNational says the US government shouldn’t be able to escape litigation by undoing its placement of an individual on the FBI’s No Fly List without an explanation for either action.
https://t.co/iLxpPhSAyM

[CAIR National @CAIRNational]

Yonas Fikre was stranded overseas for four years after being placed on the No Fly List. Our attorney @gadeirabbas will argue his case before the Supreme Court Jan. 8th. #SCOTUS
https://t.co/8jnfhtodn6