DOJ report claims Biden administration labeled parents 'domestic terrorists'; targeted moms and dads protesting DEI, COVID rules, and gender policies
DOJ report claims Biden administration labeled parents ‘domestic terrorists’; targeted moms and dads protesting DEI, COVID rules, and gender policies. BY: MEGA
A new Justice Department report claims the Biden administration used federal law enforcement against parents who challenged school policies. Some of them were even described as potential "domestic terrorists" for speaking out at school board meetings.
The 273-page report, released Monday by the DOJ's Weaponization Working Group, examines former Attorney General Merrick Garland's October 2021 memorandum directing federal authorities to address alleged threats against school officials. The department says the memo followed pressure from the National School Boards Association (NSBA) and Biden White House officials.
DOJ report details investigations into parents
Attorney General Todd Blanche said the report and newly released records shed light on efforts to restrict parental speech and rights. BY: MEGA
According to the report, the FBI opened 25 "Guardian assessments" involving parents following Garland's memo.
One investigation involved a mother whom an FBI whistleblower said was scrutinized because she belonged to a "right-wing mom's group" and owned a gun.
The department also says internal DOJ and FBI personnel raised concerns about the memo, questioning its constitutional basis and whether the effort was becoming political.
One employee reportedly called the initiative "stupid, stupid, stupid," while another warned it could become an "Anti-MAGA Task Force." The report says more than a dozen DOJ and FBI personnel expressed concerns about the directive.
Parents faced scrutiny over school policies
Biden's administration faced renewed scrutiny over Merrick Garland's 2021 directive concerning alleged threats against school officials. BY: MEGA
The report focuses on parents who challenged school-board policies during the COVID-19 pandemic and raised objections over issues like masking, remote learning, curriculum and gender-related policies.
The DOJ says the NSBA's September 2021 letter to Biden had urged federal authorities to consider certain conduct by parents as potentially equivalent to domestic terrorism or hate crimes. Garland's memo followed days later.
The current DOJ characterized the episode as an effort to "chill" parental and First Amendment rights. Those characterizations are conclusions of the Trump-era Justice Department's review of the Biden administration's actions.
Garland memo followed NSBA pressure
The DOJ says the NSBA's September 2021 letter to Biden had urged federal authorities to consider certain conduct by parents as potentially equivalent to domestic terrorism or hate crimes. BY: MEGA
The report traces the federal response back to the NSBA letter, which raised concerns about threats and harassment directed at school officials.
Garland subsequently instructed the FBI and federal prosecutors to coordinate on the issue.
The department's findings also say investigators pursued parents even when there was little evidence of actual violence or violent threats at school-board meetings.
"The Garland DOJ worked hand in hand with WH officials and the National School Boards Association to chill free speech and parental rights while they threatened to prosecute parents and label them domestic terrorists," Attorney General Todd Blanche wrote on X.
DOJ says parents' rights were improperly targeted
The department's findings also say investigators pursued parents even when there was little evidence of actual violence or violent threats at school-board meetings. BY: MEGA
Blanche wrote, "Today, we are releasing the 'Report to Expose the Weaponization of Government Against Parents in Schools' which details Weaponization of the Department against these parents — from attempting to get the National Security Division involved to ignoring repeated warnings from employees that leadership's actions could be unconstitutional."
The DOJ has now offered parents who became subjects of FBI Guardian assessments under the memo an opportunity to review their files. It also said it will examine those investigations for possible constitutional violations and issue formal apologies where warranted.
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