The Supreme Court on Monday rejected to take on a case that accused the Department of Justice (DOJ) of targeting parents who voiced concerns over school curricula, mask mandates and vaccine requirements.
The lawsuit was originally filed in 2021 after U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland issued a directive to investigate “threats of violence against school administrators, board members, teachers, and staff.” The case was petitioned to the Supreme Court in July with several parents alleging Garland’s investigation created a “chilling effect on their right to freedom of speech and reputational harm” after they were labeled threats for speaking out against school boards.
A 2022 whistleblower revealed that the FBI’s counterterrorism division created a “threat tag” to target concerned parents and allegedly opened “at least dozens of investigations” into parents over their criticisms of school boards and administration. One mom was labeled a threat for her membership in the “right wing mom’s group” Moms for Liberty and for being a “gun owner” after she reportedly said “we are coming for you,” in a warning to school officials that they could be replaced in an upcoming election. One father was said to “fit the profile of an insurrectionist,” despite the FBI having “no specific information or observations of … any specific crimes or threats.”
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland (C), U.S. Marshal Service Director Ronald Davis (L) and Assistant Attorney General Matthew Olsen hold a news conference about the work done by the service and partner agencies during Operation North Star at the Department of Justice on September 27, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
“The Attorney General has pejoratively designated these parents as ‘threats’ and ‘domestic terrorists,’ deeming them worthy of investigation and surveillance by the federal government,” Robert Muise and David Yerushalmi, lawyers for American Freedom Law Center (AFLC) who represent the case, wrote in the petition to the Court.
The case was shot down in 2022 by a Trump-appointed judge who claimed Garland’s directive did not impose “regulations, requirements or enforcement” and did not explicitly target parents, a decision which was affirmed in 2023 by a federal appeals court, according to The Hill. (RELATED: Biden Admin Officials Planned To Create ‘Pretext For Federal Action’ Against School Board Protests, Report Says)
AFLC and the DOJ did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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