Biden DOJ Responds to Trend of Parents Speaking Out by Promising to Clamp Down on 'Intimidation' of School Board Members
In Joe Biden’s America, the Department of Justice has decided that dissent is a danger to democracy and parents speaking their minds at local school boards are a threat to America’s core values.
In a memo to the FBI on Monday, Attorney General Merrick Garland wrote that the Justice Department will launch an effort to stop what he called called “a disturbing spike in harassment, intimidation, and threats of violence against school administrators, board members, teachers, and staff who participate in the vital work of running our nation’s public schools.”
Garland’s memo comes after the National School Boards Association wrote to the White House to complain about activist parents who oppose COVID-19 policies — such as remote education, vaccine mandates and mask mandates — as well as the imposition of critical race theory in public schools.
While defending mandatory mask policies as protecting “the health and safety of students and school employees” and denying critical race theory is being taught in public schools, the association called upon Garland to look at every possible way to prosecute parents standing up for their children, including the use of domestic terrorism laws.
“As these acts of malice, violence, and threats against public school officials have increased, the classification of these heinous actions could be the equivalent to a form of domestic terrorism and hate crimes,” the letter stated.
Garland’s memo appeared to equate parents speaking up against White House and teacher union-backed policies with actual threats of violence.
“While spirited debate about policy matters is protected under our Constitution, that protection does not extend to threats of violence or efforts to intimidate individuals based on their views,” he wrote.
“Threats against public servants are not only illegal, they run counter to our nation’s core values. Those who dedicate their time and energy to ensuring that our children receive a proper education in a safe environment deserve to be able to do their work without fear for their safety.”
According to a Justice Department news release published Monday, one goal will be training school boards in how to document threats and preserve evidence to properly punish parents speaking their minds.
However, in the memo, Garland also ordered the FBI to join with local law enforcement to discuss “strategies for addressing threats against school administrators, board members, teachers, and staff, and will open dedicated lines of communication for threat reporting, assessment, and response.”
“Coordination and partnership with local law enforcement is critical to implementing these measures for the benefit of our nation’s nearly 14,000 public school districts. To this end, I am directing the Federal Bureau of Investigation, working with each United States Attorney, to convene meetings with federal, state, local, Tribal, and territorial leaders in each federal judicial district within 30 days of the issuance of this memorandum.”
The department will create a task force “to determine how federal enforcement tools can be used to prosecute these crimes, and ways to assist state, Tribal, territorial and local law enforcement where threats of violence may not constitute federal crimes,” the release stated.
Many social media users criticized what they described as an attack on parents.
The Biden administration is rapidly repurposing federal law enforcement to target political opposition.
They want to reclassify dissent as “disinformation” and “domestic terrorism,” justifying an unprecedented intervention, both directly and in partnership with tech companies.
— ????Angie??? (@EnchantedAngie) October 5, 2021
Here it is. Just in case DOJ tries to change it.
Disagreeing with incompetent, unprofessional school boards is not Terrorism.#Garland pic.twitter.com/4pn8c6x6PV
— Gentleman of Leisure (@HowDidThisHap11) October 5, 2021
As opposed to actual violence by BLM and Antifa. Billions of dollars in damages. But darn those pesky school boards who want to voice an opinion the Dictator doesn’t like
DOJ launching effort to combat threats of violence against school officialshttps://t.co/vDaXmspUEo
— gamblin rebel (@dunkin1008) October 5, 2021
The DOJ is sending FBI agents to destroy your life if you criticize the Dogma of Weingarten on behalf of your kids, but everything is totally fine and there’s nothing to see here.
— John Cardillo (@johncardillo) October 5, 2021
BREAKING: Attorney General Merrick Garland has instructed the FBI to mobilize against parents who oppose critical race theory in public schools, citing “threats.”
The letter follows the National School Board Association’s request to classify protests as “domestic terrorism.” pic.twitter.com/NhPU03YOYq
— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) October 4, 2021
NSBA interim Executive Director and CEO Chip Slaven praised Garland’s memo, according to the New York Post.
“Over the last few weeks, school board members and other education leaders have received death threats and have been subjected to threats and harassment, both online and in-person,” Slaven said in a statement, according to the Post.
“The individuals who are intent on causing chaos and disrupting our schools—many of whom are not even connected to local schools—are drowning out the voices of parents who must be heard when it comes to decisions about their children’s education, health, and safety. These acts of intimidation are also affecting educational services and school board governance. Some have even led to school lockdowns,” the statement said.
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