Ongoing Lawsuits
CAIR, CAIR-CA Sue California Prison Officials Over Denied Access to Friday Prayer (Jummah) Services
In January 2026, CAIR and CAIR-CA filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of an incarcerated Muslim man challenging the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) for its systemic denial of religious accommodations.
The lawsuit alleges that CDCR officials violated the constitutional and statutory rights of incarcerated Muslims under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act by refusing to provide consistent access to Jummah prayers, the mandatory Friday congregational prayer central to the Islamic faith. According to the complaint, Jummah services have been provided, at best, less than five times per year.
This lawsuit seeks corrective action to ensure that Muslim incarcerees receive equal and consistent access to religious services, as required by federal law.
CAIR-LA Files Lawsuit Against Law Enforcement Over Forced Removal of Two Women's Hijabs
In July 2025, CAIR-LA and the Asian Law Caucus filed a lawsuit against the County of Orange, OC Sheriff Don Barnes—in his official capacity—and individual deputies of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department (OCSD) for violations of religious freedom of two Muslim women whose hijabs were forcibly removed while in custody following their arrests at a peaceful, student-led demonstration at the University of California, Irvine (UCI) on May 15, 2024.
In April 2026, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California granted a preliminary injunction in the lawsuit, providing immediate protection for the two plaintiffs. In its order, the court found that plaintiffs offered sufficient evidence that they experienced a substantial burden to their religious beliefs under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act and would continue to suffer irreparable harm unless an injunction was granted.
CAIR-LA Files Lawsuit Against Law Enforcement Over Violent Crackdown on UCLA Anti-Genocide Protesters
In May 2025, CAIR-LA, Hadsell Stormer Renick & Dai LLP, and their legal partners filed a lawsuit against the California Highway Patrol (CHP) and the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) for their use of excessive force against anti-genocide protesters at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)’s Palestine Solidarity Encampment last spring.
The excessively violent and militarized response from law enforcement caused severe injuries to students and community members, sending some to the hospital with serious wounds, including head injuries, blood loss, and broken bones, and resulted in at least one protester requiring surgery.
This lawsuit seeks to hold accountable the agencies involved in the violent crackdown on protesters and the violation of their rights.
CAIR-CA Files Lawsuit Against UCLA Over Failure to Protect Pro-Palestinian Activists
In March 2025, CAIR-CA and its legal partners filed a lawsuit on behalf of 35 students, faculty, and community members against UCLA, CHP, LAPD, the UCLA Police Department, and dozens of perpetrators involved in acts of violence against peaceful protesters at the university’s anti-genocide encampment last spring.
A group of pro-Israel extremists entered the UCLA campus in the middle of the night and violently attacked peaceful protesters in the encampment for hours, injuring several people—all while law enforcement stood by and watched.
This lawsuit challenges UCLA’s failure to protect the rights and safety of its students and seeks to hold accountable individuals responsible for the violence, harassment, and intimidation against those speaking out against Israel’s ongoing genocide and ethnic cleansing in Gaza.
CAIR-LA Files Lawsuit Against FBI Over Illegal, Racist No Fly List
In August 2024, CAIR and CAIR-LA filed a lawsuit against the federal government for placing one Palestinian American on the No Fly List and for seizing the electronic device of another while interrogating him about organizing against Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza.
CAIR-LA’s client discovered he had been placed on the FBI’s secret No Fly List in May 2024. His sudden inclusion on the list came several months after he began consistently organizing lawful and peaceful protests in his city in support of Gaza.
This lawsuit is among the first to challenge the FBI’s apparent decision to target innocent people who speak up for Palestinian human rights and advocate against the United States’ complicity in Israel’s devastating violence.
CAIR-LA Files Lawsuit Against FBI Over Illegal Surveillance of the Muslim Community
In February 2011, on behalf of three Muslim men—Sheikh Yassir Fazaga, Ali Malik, and Yasser AbdelRahim—CAIR-LA and the American Civil Liberties of Southern California filed an unprecedented class-action lawsuit against the FBI and the U.S. government for unlawfully targeting the Muslim community in violation of their constitutional rights, including their religious freedom and privacy.
The lawsuit was filed after it became known that the FBI had hired an informant to go undercover as a Muslim convert in order to surveil mosques and spy on Orange County’s Muslim population as part of a covert government operation in 2006 and 2007.
After years of legal maneuvering and two trips to the U.S. Supreme Court, the case continues as plaintiffs Sh. Fazaga, Malik, and Abdelrahim fight to hold the FBI accountable for its covert surveillance of the Southern California Muslim community. As of 2026, the case is back in the lower federal court for further litigation.
15 years later, CAIR-LA remains committed to the fight to hold the government accountable for violating the rights of American Muslims.