Garland testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee for an oversight hearing.
Attorney General Merrick Garland on Wednesday defended himself against claims from Senate Republicans that a memo he issued about violent threats to school board members could have a chilling effect on parents who are seeking to voice their concerns about their children’s education. Garland’s one-page memo, issued October 4, has become a flashpoint in a broader battle waged by Republicans against the Biden administration and schools over mask mandates and the teaching of critical race theory, an academic concept developed by legal scholars to examine the ongoing effects of racism in American policies and institutions. Opposition to the two issues by parents of school-aged children have led to protests and disruptions of school board meetings, and two officials with the National School Boards Association last month for federal assistance in responding to threats made against local school board members, school administrators, teachers and staff over COVID-19 mitigation measures and the public school curriculum in different states. Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa, the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee, told Garland he should rescind his memo because the school board association’s board of directors apologized for the language in the initial missive to Mr. Biden, which said violent and malicious acts against public school officials could «be the equivalent to a form of domestic terrorism and hate crimes.» Calling the message «extremely divisive,» Grassley told the attorney general it could deter parents from speaking up during school board meetings out of fear of a possible response from federal law enforcement. «That’s a poisonous, chilling effect,» Grassley said. But Garland told Republicans during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing that the memo focused on threats of violence against public servants and aimed to facilitate consultation between federal and local law enforcement.
