Squelching freedom of speech isn't what democracy is all about.
A new report from The Federalist says that will happen if the National School Boards Association (NSBA) gets its way.
On Wednesday, the association asked the Biden administration to use domestic terrorism laws against concerned parents. They argued such measures were necessary to fight the “growing number of threats of violence and acts of intimidation occurring across the nation.”
The Federalist's Jordan Davidson explains:
NSBA said local and state law enforcement agencies are already working to “prevent further disruptions to educational services and school district operations,” but that “these threats and acts of violence have become more prevalent” and require assistance from federal agencies such as the U.S. Department of Justice, FBI, Department of Homeland Security, and the Secret Service.
“We also request the assistance of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service to intervene against threatening letters and cyberbullying attacks that have been transmitted to students, school board members, district administrators, and other educators,” the letter continues. “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.”
These agencies, NSBA directed, should use laws designed to target domestic terrorism such as the PATRIOT Act, the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, the Violent Interference with Federally Protected Rights statute, and the Conspiracy Against Rights statute. The group also requested an executive order “to enforce all applicable federal laws for the protection of students and public school district personnel, and any related measure.”
The organization cites recent “attacks” and “physical threats” against local school board members and other education officials based on what NSBA claims is “propaganda purporting the false inclusion of critical race theory within classroom instruction and curricula” and anti-mask sentiments as the reason for intervention.
The letter explicitly claims that “extremist hate organizations” have held school board meetings hostage and incited chaos.
