A dozen House Republicans demand that AG Merrick Garland rescind DOJ directive targeting parents who attend school board meetings
By jdheyes // 2021-10-28
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Because Republicans are the only major party that still respects our country's institutions and the rule of law, a dozen of them are demanding that Attorney General Merrick Garland put an end to an initiative he launched earlier this month targeting parents who show up at school board meetings demanding changes to offensive, racist and divisive curriculum and materials. The GOP effort comes following a letter sent to the Biden regime late last month from the National School Boards Association requesting that federal agencies be permitted to investigate parental conduct that allegedly rises to the level of "domestic terrorism." The NSBA eventually issued an apology but not before causing a major stir among parents, education reform groups and lawmakers. “The NSBA expressed regret about and formally apologized for its letter to President Biden,” the GOP members of Congress, led by Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), said in the letter. “Because the NSBA letter was the basis for your memorandum and given that your memorandum has been and will continue to be read as threatening parents and chilling their protected First Amendment rights, the only responsible course of action is for you to fully and unequivocally withdraw your memorandum immediately.” They went on to say that Garland's testimony before the House last week was "troubling." “Yo​u ​acknowledged that you issued the unusual directive soon after reading about the thinly sourced letter sent by the ​[​NSBA​]​ to President Biden and not​ ​because of any specific request from state or local law enforcement​,” they said in the letter. “During your testimony, you sidestepped the obvious effect of your ill-conceived memorandum and the chilling effect that invoking the full weight of the federal law enforcement apparatus would have on parents’ protected First Amendment speech,” noting further that parents have an “undisputed right” to take part in their children’s education. The late September letter from Garcia and NSBA interim Executive Director and CEO Chip Slaven addressed to President Joe Biden sought “immediate assistance” for school board members, teachers and even students. “America’s public schools and its education leaders are under an immediate threat. The National School Boards Association (NSBA) respectfully asks for federal law enforcement and other assistance to deal with the growing number of threats of violence and acts of intimidation occurring across the nation,” the letter from NSBA President Viola Garcia and NSBA interim Executive Director and CEO Chip Slaven stated. They added, “Local school board members want to hear from their communities on important issues and that must be at the forefront of good school board governance and promotion of free speech. However, there also must be safeguards in place to protect public schools and dedicated education leaders as they do their jobs,” the letter continued, adding: “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." One critic responded by accusing Garland of "prosecutorial abuse" for tasking U.S. attorneys and the FBI with investigating parents. Ethics and Public Policy Center senior fellow Roger Severino told the DCNF that such behavior is “prosecutorial abuse.” “To unleash the DOJ on concerned parents and pro-lifers without cause is prosecutorial abuse in the name of politics,” said Ethics and Public Policy Center senior fellow Roger Severino, the former director of the Office of Civil Rights under President Donald Trump’s administration. “If Garland truly cares about threats in education, he should investigate woke college mobs who routinely physically intimidate and threaten speakers who dare to present a conservative point of view on campus,” Severino added. Sources include: USAFeatures.news TheEpochTimes.com
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