When the FBI tags you, it is definitely not a game! It may be because you attended a school board meeting to speak your objections about what is being taught to your kids, or maybe waved a sign you made, or raised your voice to a shout. If you brought attention to yourself and your beliefs in any way, Attorney General Merrick Garland wants a “threat tag” (designated EDUOFFICIALS) applied to you by the Counterterrorism and Criminal Divisions of the FBI. In defense of this action, the FBI said, “The FBI has used tags to track everything from drug trafficking to human trafficking.” While not explicitly stating it, that sentence places parents’ First Amendment rights to free speech in people’s minds as despicable as drug trafficking and human trafficking.
Of course, both Merrick Garland and the FBI would deny placing parents’ public disagreements with what is being taught to their children in the same category as drug and human trafficking, but they did it. It is in writing.
According to an article on Jim Jordan’s website (Congressman, Ohio), Garland’s instructions to the FBI included:
Attempt to identify the following:
Is there a federal nexus?
Are there potential federal violations that can be investigated and charged?
What’s the motivation behind the criminal activity?
Attorney General Merrick Garland
He knows (of course, he knows) that the misconduct which occasionally occurs in a public meeting is addressed by local authorities—the police. A local problem is dealt with locally! So, by Garland asking the FBI to determine in their investigations if there is a federal nexus, potentialfederal violations that can be charged demonstrates he knows this is a local issue, and he is trying to find a way to elevate it to one that is national. If I read the information I found correctly, the FBI is already investigating this issue. Without full authority to interfere in a local matter?
Representative Andy Biggs (R) Arizona wrote a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland in which he asked fifteen pointed questions. Here are the last two on his list:
Are FBI agents, other department personnel, or other department assets attending school board or other public meetings to monitor parents?
Are department resources being used to run background checks or conduct other research on parents who attend school board or other public meetings?
You can read the entire letter and see the signatures of the other members of Congress here.
AG Garland says the FBI wouldn’t target parents under this directive, but then what is its purpose? Are concerned parents domestic terrorists or criminals or both? Florida’s governor Ron DeSantis tweeted, “Frankly, I don’t think we’ve ever seen anything like it in American history. … Are you aware of any time in American history when an attorney general has directed the FBI to begin to intervene in school board meetings — local school board meetings?”
If there is no need to worry about these activities, why were the FBI and federal prosecutors setting up meetings with local law enforcement agencies across the country and arranging to have “dedicated lines of communication.” If you have a “dedicated line,” that means you can get in touch with each other quickly and easily. This is the level of urgency being placed on this matter.
So, the question of why this is happening must be considered. In my opinion, it is to frighten us into submission. There is enough hostility against this heavy-handedness to prevent action against a person or persons unless something egregious occurs. I hope you won’t be dissuaded. I pray that you have the courage to stand firm in your rights and your beliefs. Please keep attending those school board meetings and voicing your concerns. Don’t forget to contact your member of Congress. A lot of people are ready to help you.
But that does not mean we want to dominate you by telling you how to put your faith into practice. We want to work together with you so you will be full of joy, for it is by your own faith that you stand firm. (2 Corinthians 1:24)
When the FBI tags you, it is definitely not a game! It may be because you attended a school board meeting to speak your objections about what is being taught to your kids, or maybe waved a sign you made, or raised your voice to a shout. If you brought attention to yourself and your beliefs in any way, Attorney General Merrick Garland wants a “threat tag” (designated EDUOFFICIALS) applied to you by the Counterterrorism and Criminal Divisions of the FBI. In defense of this action, the FBI said, “The FBI has used tags to track everything from drug trafficking to human trafficking.” While not explicitly stating it, that sentence places parents’ First Amendment rights to free speech in people’s minds as despicable as drug trafficking and human trafficking.
So, the question of why this is happening must be considered. In my opinion, it is to frighten us into submission. There is enough hostility against this heavy-handedness to prevent action against a person or persons unless something egregious occurs. I hope you won’t be dissuaded. I pray that you have the courage to stand firm in your rights and your beliefs. Please keep attending those school board meetings and voicing your concerns. Don’t forget to contact your member of Congress. A lot of people are ready to help you.