Kerby Anderson

Back in October and November, I did commentaries about the letter that was sent to the White House from the National School Board Association suggesting that protesting parents could be designated as domestic terrorists. It encouraged the administration to use any laws at its disposal, including the PATRIOT Act originally intended for Muslim terrorists. The school board letter led to Attorney General Merrick Garland’s memorandum directing the FBI and the US attorneys’ offices to investigate parents protesting school boards. They were to investigate what was called a “disturbing spike in harassment, intimidation, and threats of violence against school administrators, board members, teachers, and staff.” At the time, I argued that any true acts of intimidation and violence deserved action from local law enforcement. But most of the examples cited did not involve violence and could hardly justify federal involvement. The National School Board Association apologized for sending the letter and admitted they should have “had a better process in place to allow for consultation on communication of this significance.” But it turns out that they did consult with President Biden’s Education Secretary, as internal emails obtained from a Freedom of Information Act request. Although an Education Department spokesperson claims the secretary didn’t “solicit a letter” from the school board, I think we understand the process. One branch of the federal government consults with a private organization that then sends a letter to the federal government and then the attorney general writes a memorandum calling for action against parents. See how this works? By the way, the administration didn’t apologize. Instead, the Justice Department then announced it was forming a new domestic terrorism unit. No wonder so many Americans have become so disillusioned with this administration.