A new document dump reveals the Biden DOJ searched for a federal hook to justify targeting parents critical of school policies. The emails, released by the conservative legal group America First Legal, show Biden officials scrambling to respond to a now-retracted letter from the National School Boards Association (NSBA) suggesting concerned parents should be treated like “domestic terrorists.”
“We’re aware; the challenge here is finding a federal hook,” DOJ aide Kevin Chambers wrote on Oct. 1, 2021. Just days later, Attorney General Merrick Garland issued a directive mobilizing the FBI against parents who voiced concerns over COVID mandates, CRT, and gender ideology at school board meetings.
One DOJ lawyer warned on Oct. 3, “The vast, vast majority of the behavior cited cannot be reached by federal law,” adding that it was “protected by the First Amendment.” Despite this, Garland acted—at the urging of the White House.
America First Legal President Gene Hamilton called it a “conspiracy that was ultimately aimed at depriving parents of two fundamental rights — the right to speak, and the right to direct the upbringing of their children.”
The emails further confirm that Sparkle Sooknanan, now a Biden-appointed judge, initiated internal DOJ efforts by asking if any authorities “could help address this issue.” The revelations call into question Garland’s past claim that the DOJ acted independently. “Nothing remotely federal,” one DOJ attorney admitted.
