The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s counterterrorism and criminal division have reportedly began placing “threat tags” on alleged complaints against school-board members and educators. The move comes after the Justice Department issued a memo “designed to address the rise in criminal conduct directed toward school personnel.”
Members of the GOP have argued the Biden Administration is improperly targeting parents who voice concerns about their local school boards.
On Tuesday, a whistleblower provided documents to the House Judiciary Committee alleging the FBI is using counterterrorism tools to investigate American parents.
The FBI’s “Counterterrorism and Criminal Divisions created a threat tag, EDUOFFICIALS, to track instances of related threats,” according to the email. “The purpose of the threat tag is to help scope this threat on a national level and provide an opportunity for comprehensive analysis of the threat picture for effective engagement with law enforcement.”
“Merrick Garland testified that the FBI wasn’t targeting parents,” Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) said. “We now know the FBI is “tagging” parents they consider threatening. The Attorney General has some explaining to do.”
🚨🚨🚨#BREAKING: Whistleblower Discloses Explosive Documents Showing FBI Using Counterterrorism Tools to Investigate Parents pic.twitter.com/HpbdtinJQo
— House Judiciary GOP (@JudiciaryGOP) November 16, 2021
“The FBI has never been in the business of investigating parents who speak out or policing speech at school board meetings, and we are not going to start now,” the FBI told the Wall Street Journal. “The creation of a threat tag in no way changes the long-standing requirements for opening an investigation, nor does it represent a shift in how the FBI prioritizes threats.”
NEW: Top @FBI officials have asked agents to flag all investigations into harassment/intimidation of educators w/ a “threat tag” that some worry will open the door for the bureau to collect information on parents who protest school policies. w/@aviswanatha https://t.co/N4hJdJuVcv
— Sadie Gurman (@sgurman) November 16, 2021
An FBI agent provided a copy of the internal email to several Republican lawmakers, citing concerns that it could open the door for the bureau to collect information on parents voicing their opposition to local school policies during meetings. https://t.co/bM9Q2n28Rg via @WSJ
— JamesVGrimaldi (@JamesVGrimaldi) November 16, 2021
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