Now that Republicans are in control of the House of Representatives, there have already been revelations showing how the federal government was weaponized against Americans for having the wrong political views. Earlier this week, GOP lawmakers published a report showing that the FBI had no “legitimate basis” for conducting counterterrorism operations against parents who showed up at school board meetings to protest inappropriate material being presented to children behind their backs, and onerous COVID restrictions.
Now, it has been revealed that the FBI investigated a number of these parents and came up with a whole lot of nothing. The Washington Free Beacon reported:
House Republicans revealed Tuesday that the FBI opened 25 preliminary investigations based on tips to the National Threat Operations Center. Six of the probes were assigned to the FBI’s counterterrorism division, according to the report from the Weaponization of Government Subcommittee. The report says the FBI opened just one full investigation out of the 25 preliminary investigations of school board threats and did not identify any legitimate threats against school board members.
Republicans allege that the Biden administration used counterterrorism laws to suppress parents’ criticism of school board policies regarding classroom curriculum and coronavirus mandates. These allegations stem from findings obtained through an FBI subpoena, which was the focus of a House hearing on Thursday entitled “Free Speech: The Biden Administration’s Chilling of Parents’ Fundamental Rights.”
The report from the committee, led by Rep. Jim Jordan (R., Ohio), states, “The Administration’s goal seems to have been silencing the critics of its radical education policies,” adding that the “weaponization of law-enforcement powers against American parents exercising their First Amendment rights is dangerous.”
GOP lawmakers invited conservative parent groups such as Parents Defending Education and Moms for Liberty to testify as witnesses. These groups have been on the front lines combatting school mask mandates and far leftist curricula.
The FBI’s investigations followed Attorney General Merrick Garland’s memo in October 2021, which created a federal task force to investigate threats against school boards. The memo was in response to a request from the National School Boards Association, which referred to parents as potential “domestic terrorists.” Republicans have questioned the Biden administration’s coordination with the association on the letter.
The Washington Free Beacon reported that the association’s head provided a copy of the letter to the White House before releasing it to the public. The report also notes that Education Secretary Miguel Cardona appointed National School Boards Association president Viola Garcia to the National Assessment Governing Board, which tracks student progress on standardized tests, days after the letter’s release.
According to the Republican report, the FBI found no increase in legitimate threats against school boards. Nevertheless, Democrats and the administration still maintain concerns over growing threats from conservatives.
According to the report, the FBI interviewed a mother who made a statement at a school board meeting saying “we are coming for you.” A tipster filed a complaint against her, alleging that she was part of a “right wing mom’s group” and was a gun owner. The mother, a member of Moms for Liberty, told the FBI that her comments were in response to the school district’s mask mandates, and were meant as a threat to vote the school board members out of office.
Another FBI field office opened an investigation into a father who was against mask mandates. Republicans claim that a tipster said the man “fit the profile of an insurrectionist” and “has a lot of guns and threatens to use them.” However, the person who filed the complaint later admitted to the FBI that they had no specific information of any crimes or threats made by the father.
Very interesting that the “tipster” used the word “insurrectionist” to describe one of the parents in question. If I didn’t know any better, I’d be tempted to believe this person was merely a political actor trying to target people who disagree with their politics.
If this report is any indication, any proceedings from the Weaponization of Government Subcommittee should be quite revealing. If the Biden administration is wielding the power of the state against everyday Americans for espousing the wrong political views, it should be one of the greatest scandals in recent history. Based on what we already know, we can be sure that these revelations are just the beginning.
