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U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland directed the FBI in an October 2021 memo to meet with federal, state and local leaders to “facilitate the discussion of strategies” to respond to “a disturbing spike” in threats against school board members and other educators.

He noted that “spirited debate about policy matters is protected under our Constitution.”

The National School Boards Association had asked President Joe Biden for a law enforcement response to threats made over COVID-19 masking policies and other issues.

Garland later said he received 22 reports of threats and referred six to local authorities.

The parents claim was made by Peter Navarro, a trade adviser to former President Donald Trump. Navarro spoke July 17, 2024, at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.

An RNC spokesperson cited pushback from GOP lawmakers who said the FBI interviewed a parent for allegedly telling a school board member “we are coming for you.”

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

U.S. Department of Justice: Merrick Garland memo

National Association of School Boards: Letter to President Biden

USA Today: Garland: school board memo aimed at violence, not parent protests; 6 cases referred to local authorities

NBC News: Peter Navarro: ‘This morning I did walk out of a federal prison’

Fox News: Whistleblowers: FBI targeted parents via terrorism tools despite Garland’s testimony that it didn’t happen

Wisconsin Watch: Did the FBI under President Joe Biden label concerned parents who spoke at school board meetings ‘domestic terrorists,’ as a Wisconsin congressman claims?

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Tom Kertscher joined Wisconsin Watch as a full-time reporter in October 2024. He started as a fact checker in January 2023 and contributes to our collaboration with the The Gigafact Project to fight misinformation online. Kertscher is a former longtime newspaper reporter, including at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. He is a contributing writer for Milwaukee Magazine and sports freelancer for The Associated Press.