October 11, 2021
Today, Southeastern Legal Foundation (SLF) responded in an open letter to American Parents to Attorney General Merrick Garland’s memo ordering the FBI to take action to “protect” school board members, who are government officials, from parents. The “crime” in question is verbally disagreeing with school board policies on everything ranging from mask mandates to the teaching of critical race theory in our nation’s public schools. His order added to the mounting evidence across the nation that the Biden administration is using the awesome power of government to investigate, stifle, and silence criticism—a hallmark of totalitarian tyranny.
As SLF explains in its letter:
The broad scope of General Garland’s initial order unleashes the nation’s top law enforcement agency to root out parents who protest in the name of public safety: “The Department . . . is committed to using its authority and resources to discourage these threats, identify them when they occur, and prosecute them when appropriate.”
This is a direct attack on the First Amendment rights of both parents and teachers. The intent is to intimidate and silence.
Thousands of parents are stepping forward to question curriculum and policy decisions by public school boards and administrators. This is democracy in action. It is evidence of a healthy system. It is also an inconvenient truth for the progressive left that no longer tolerates any questioning of its orthodoxy.
It continues with a reminder to American parents that they have First Amendment rights:
Make no mistake about it, the American culture war is real. General Garland’s order declares that in the coming days the federal government will facilitate a means to report, assess, and respond to anything it deems is “intimidation” or “harassment.” Is the Biden administration using its power selectively? Yes. Is it ignoring the Constitution? Yes.
The choice for America is quite simple. You either stand with the parents who simply want their kids to receive a color-blind education, or you stand with those seeking to silence them at all costs. The clear intent by those choosing to stand by censorship is to implement race-based programming that conditions children to see each other’s skin color first and foremost then categorize everyone according to a hierarchy of racial privilege, and then pit different racial groups against each other. It is as unwise as it is illegal.
General Garland’s order reinforces what we have warned over and over: The most important battleground in the struggle to save our American republic is the public schools. The courageous parents and teachers who are speaking up, criticizing, advocating, and going to court, must know that those in the government will protect their rights rather than trample on them. Free speech is the dread of tyrants —we cannot let tyranny win.
Read the full letter.