Attorney General Merrick Garland defended a Justice Department memo regarding parental involvement with school boards while Republicans insisted that he rescind the directive. He signaled no plans to do so despite their criticism.
The memo took center stage as Garland appeared on Wednesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee — his second congressional appearance in a week — and said it was meant to respond to violence and threats of violence directed against local school board officials.
The biggest challenge came from Sen. Ted Cruz, R–T.X., who critics said “went nuclear” and attacked Garland.
You can see the explosive exchange here —
The D.O.J. memo came out Oct. 4 after some school board meetings have devolved into shouting contests over issues such as critical race theory being taught, masks in schools, and COVID-19 vaccines and testing requirements.
Republicans say Garland went too far in instructing Justice Department divisions to coordinate with local law enforcement, and said the Biden administration was labeling PTA members as domestic terrorists. In his memo Garland said there had been “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.”
An accompanying news release mentioned the FBI, the department’s criminal division, national security division, civil rights division, and other parts.
“The obligation of the Justice Department is to protect the American people against violence and threats of violence and that particularly includes public officials,” Garland insisted.
Republicans on the Senate committee also seized on a memo from Leif Johnson, the acting U.S. attorney in Montana, to the state attorney general, county attorneys, sheriffs, and school officials in the state. The memo spells out federal crimes that could be used in prosecutions for violence, harassment, or intimidation of school board officials.
The Montana memo, obtained by The Associated Press, cites about a dozen federal statues from conspiracy to deprive someone of civil rights to stalking and “anonymous telephone harassment.” It instructs the recipients to contact the FBI “if you believe that a person has violated one of these statutes.”
Garland denied he’d ever received the U.S. attorney’s memo and claimed he did not know specifics about it. A spokesperson for the U.S. attorney’s office in Montana did not immediately respond to questions about whether Johnson had consulted senior Justice Department officials before issuing the memo.
“I’ve never seen that memo,” Garland said. “No one has sent me that memo, so I haven’t seen it.”
The National School Boards Association has since said “we regret and apologize” for its letter asking for federal assistance to combat harassment and violence against school officials and said some of the acts could be “domestic terrorism.”
The original letter asked for the federal government to investigate cases in which threats of violence could be handled as violations of federal laws protecting civil rights. The association asked for the Justice Department, the FBI, Homeland Security, and the Secret Service to help monitor threat levels and assess risks to students, educators, board members, and school buildings.
At least two Republican senators – Sens. Tom Cotton of Arkansas and Josh Hawley of Missouri – called for Garland to resign over his handling of the memo.
“This is shameful,” Cotton exclaimed. “You should resign in disgrace.”
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The Associated Press contributed to this article