House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) vowed last month to investigate Attorney General Merrick Garland. "Why did he go after parents, and call them terrorists, simply because they wanted to go to a school board meeting?,” McCarthy asked. The Washington Post fact checker gives McCarthy four Pinnochios for inventing this story. The charge was actually made by the National School Boards Association, which asked President Biden for federal resources to help monitor “threats of violence and acts of intimidation” against public school members and other school officials. “As these acts of malice, violence, and threats against public school officials have increased, the classification of these heinous actions could be the equivalent to a form of domestic terrorism and hate crimes,” the group said.
Last fall, Garland issued a memo to FBI Director Christopher Wray and federal prosecutors calling for action within 30 days to “facilitate the discussion of strategies for addressing threats” against school administrators, board members, teachers and staff. Garland said, “While spirited debate about policy matters is protected under our Constitution, that protection does not extend to threats of violence or efforts to intimidate individuals based on their views.” The association apologized for the letter, and the fact checker concluded that, "McCarthy is putting words in Garland’s mouth. Garland has never equated parents to terrorists, and in fact he told Congress he 'can’t imagine' a circumstance under which that would happen."