Attorney General Merrick Garland directed the FBI to take on “threats of violence” against school boards and teachers amid growing parental anger over curriculums, mask mandates, and other polarizing issues.
In a memorandum sent by Garland on Monday, the attorney general notes that he is directing the FBI to work with “federal, state, local, Tribal, and territorial leaders” in order to address what he describes as a “disturbing” amount of threats of violence and harassment being made toward teachers, administrators and school board officials.
“Threats against public servants are not only illegal, they run counter to our nation’s core values,” Garland said. “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.”
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Garland’s announcement comes after the National School Boards Association published a Sept. 29 letter to President Joe Biden in which they lamented “persevering against other challenges that could impede” their response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Coupled with attacks against school board members and educators for approving policies for masks to protect the health and safety of students and school employees, many public school officials are also facing physical threats because of propaganda purporting the false inclusion of critical race theory within classroom instruction and curricula,” the NSBA wrote.
Curricula incorporating tenants of critical race theory have been documented across the country, leading to clashes between parents and administrators. Loudon County, Virginia, has become the most prominent education battleground in the country — education reform is now a key issue in the gubernatorial race.
The letter from the NSBA requested that the FBI, Department of Justice, and the Department of Homeland Security use tools such as the “Gun-Free School Zones Act, the PATRIOT Act, the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, the Violent Interference with Federally Protected Rights statute, the Conspiracy Against Rights statute,” along with “an Executive Order” in order to crack down on alleged violent threats.
The NSBA went on to allege that “extremist hate organizations showing up at school board meetings is being reported.”
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In response to the NSBA’s demands, White House press secretary Jen Psaki explained that the administration takes “the security of public servants and elected officials across the country very seriously. And obviously these threats to school board members is horrible. They’re doing their jobs.”
