DOJ school board memo 1 year later: Lawmakers outraged over lack of answers

Angry parents, lashing out at school board conferences throughout the nation, captured headlines for a lot of 2021. Many had been fed up with COVID-19 restrictions and curriculum mandates such as critical race theory.

The National School Boards Association sent President Biden a letter in September 2021 equating the actions of some parents as “a form of domestic terrorism and hate crimes.”

Not even a week later, Garland wrote a one-page memo asking for a closer look at any parents who threatened school board members, although the word “parent” isn’t found in the document.

Democrats downplayed the political controversy and cited public safety.

“Those who argue that school board meetings across America are not more dangerous and more violent than in the past are ignoring reality,” Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., stated last year.

Republicans sounded the alarm on the memo as an attack on free speech.

“Withdraw this memo and focus on the real threats and dangers that American citizens face,” Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, stated in November 2021.

Biden administration officials insist the memo centered solely on violence and threats of violence and say the document was designed to facilitate communication between federal and local law enforcement.

One year later, Republicans on Capitol Hill are still not convinced.

Attorney General Merrick Garland delivering a statement in Washington in April 2021. (Mandel Ngan/Pool/Getty Images, File)

“I’m very frustrated by the lack of transparency from the attorney general. I demanded details about how this was drafted a year ago. We still don’t have those answers yet,” Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., informed Fox News one year after the memo came out.

Garland has insisted his memo had nothing to do with free speech.

“Parents can object to their school boards about curriculum, about the treatment of their children, about school policies. We are only trying to prevent violence against school officials,” Garland stated in October 2021.

In late September of this year, a federal judge threw out a lawsuit from Virginia and Michigan parents who sued Garland over the memo. Trump-appointed Judge Dabney Friedrich wrote “the policy does not label anyone a domestic terrorist, as the plaintiffs suggest.”

The Justice Department declined to comment on this story. The National School Boards Association didn’t reply to a request for remark, however late last year apologized for the original letter.