Sens. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and Ted Cruz, R-Texas, grilled Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke on Wednesday about the controversial Department of Justice memorandum …
Sens. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and Ted Cruz, R-Texas, grilled Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke on Wednesday about the controversial Department of Justice memorandum mobilizing the FBI to address alleged threats against school board members nationwide. Clarke, who was appearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee to discuss voting rights, was first asked by Blackburn to affirm the DOJ’s commitment to the First Amendment. « Does it raise civil rights concerns when the government attempts to intimidate citizens who are exercising their First Amendment freedom of speech? » Blackburn asked in an apparent reference to the DOJ memo, which Attorney General Merrick Garland penned after the National School Boards Association (NSBA) sent a letter to President Biden. The letter requested help for alleged death threats to school boards over COVID-19 policies and critical race theory (CRT). Critics have claimed the memo will effectively weaponize the FBI to investigate parents who object to the curriculum and policies of their local public schools.
