Florida GOP Governor Ron DeSantis accused AG Merrick Garland of “weaponizing” the DOJ by using the FBI to silence and intimidate parents.
“Garland is weaponizing the DOJ by making use of the FBI to go for concerned parents and silence them,” DeSantis said on Tuesday.
“Florida will always defend the free speech of its citizens and won’t allow federal agents to destroy dissent.”
Attorney General Garland is weaponizing the DOJ by using the FBI to pursue concerned parents and silence them through intimidation.
Florida will defend the free speech rights of its citizens and will not allow federal agents to squelch dissent.
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) October 5, 2021
The remarks came after a memo Garland sent to the FBI this Monday about threats against school officials.
BREAKING: Attorney General Merrick Garland has instructed the FBI to mobilize against parents who oppose critical race theory in public schools, citing "threats."
The letter follows the National School Board Association's request to classify protests as "domestic terrorism." pic.twitter.com/NhPU03YOYq
— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) October 4, 2021
“In recent months, there was a disturbing spike in, intimidation, harassment and threats of violence among school board members, leaders, teachers, and staff who are involved with the vital work of running our country’s schools,” Garland wrote.
“The Dept. takes these things seriously and is committed to use its resources to discourage such threats, identify them when they happen, and prosecute them as appropriate.”
“In the upcoming days, the Dept. will announce a set of measures designed to deal with the rise in criminal conduct aimed at school employees and officials,” he said. “Partnership with local police is critical to implementing these measures for the sake of our country’s almost 14,000 public school districts.”
Last Wednesday, the National School Boards Association wrote a letter to Biden asking with him to deal with parents who are against mask mandates and the teaching of anti-white critical race theory like they were domestic terrorists.
The NSBA started by asking “for federal police and other assistance to handle the growing threats of violence and acts of intimidation happening across the country.”
“Now, we ask for the government to investigate and stop these threats and violent acts against our public officials through the current statutes, executive authority, intergovernmental task forces, and more extraordinary measures to guarantee the safety of our educators and to protect public school campuses.”
The group said local and state police were already partnering with certain school officials to “stop further disruptions to school district operations,” but more assistance was required because “these threats and acts of violence have turned more prevalent.”
Author: Steven Sinclaire