Lawfare and the National Association of school boards

Jordan Davidson:

Garland then confirmed it wasn’t until NSBA contacted him that his department began to investigate claims of violence and terrorism.

“Well, the National School Board Association, which represents thousands of school boards and school board members, says that there are these kinds of threats. When we read in the newspapers reports of threats of violence—” Garland said before Jordan interjected again.

“The source for this … was the National School Boards Association letter,” Jordan reiterated before his time expired.https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=FDRLST&dnt=true&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=eyJ0ZndfZXhwZXJpbWVudHNfY29va2llX2V4cGlyYXRpb24iOnsiYnVja2V0IjoxMjA5NjAwLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X2hvcml6b25fdHdlZXRfZW1iZWRfOTU1NSI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJodGUiLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X3NwYWNlX2NhcmQiOnsiYnVja2V0Ijoib2ZmIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH19&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1451214699559800835&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fthefederalist.com%2F2021%2F10%2F21%2Fag-merrick-garland-admits-federal-war-on-parents-sprang-from-school-boards-letter-not-evidence%2F&sessionId=ef9bdc2a4372340f64e83091a5829e9db78032bb&siteScreenName=FDRLST&theme=light&widgetsVersion=f001879%3A1634581029404&width=550px

Biden AG Merrick Garland concedes that he started targeting parents for “possible domestic terrorism” because the NSBA sent a letter. pic.twitter.com/ZDvhZ6vDzO

— The First (@TheFirstonTV) October 21, 2021

The NSBA sent a letter to the Biden administration last month begging federal law enforcement to use domestic terrorism laws to target parents who oppose anti-science mask mandates for children and the infiltration of racist curriculum in schools. The school board organization claimed federal action was warranted to “deal with the growing number of threats of violence and acts of intimidation occurring across the nation.”

Most of the incident examples the NSBA used to justify intervention by the Biden administration did not escalate to a level that even yielded arrests or charges on the local level, yet Garland quickly directed the FBI and state attorneys to address “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.”

More from Elizabeth Elkind.

White House Knew About Letter That Compared Parents to Domestic Terrorists