The United States Department of Justice was reportedly sued over Attorney General Merrick Garland's memo instructing federal agencies to act against parents fighting against Critical Race Theory and the LGBT agenda in schools.
According to The Christian Post, parents from Saline, Michigan have sued the Department of Justice over Garland's October 4 memorandum urging the Federal Bureau of Investigation to become more involved in alleged threats made against teachers and school boards. The said threats were of political in nature coming from parents who object "certain ideas" introduced in the curriculum and, which in turn, the memorandum wished to silence.
The memo particularly highlighted the "disturbing spike in harassment, intimidation, and threats of violence against school administrators, board members, teacher and staff who participate in the vital work of running" public schools "based on their views."
"The Department takes these incidents seriously and is committed to using its authority and resources to discourage these threats, identify them when they occur, and prosecute them when appropriate. In the coming days, the Department will announce a series of measures designed to address the rise in criminal conduct directed toward school personnel," Garland said in the memo.
Garland's memo allegedly comes just five days after the National School Boards Association wrote Biden to categorize "acts of malice, violence, and threats against public school officials" as "a form of domestic terrorism."
The group of parents then reacted to the memo and filed the lawsuit on Tuesday, October 19, at the United States District Court for the District of Columbia through the American Freedom Law Center. The parents contested the claims of Garland on the existence of violence and threats and opposed the "progressive" agenda the Biden Administration wants to force on children. They raised that Garland was "targeting their right to free speech."
"Contrary to the Attorney General's false assertion, there is no widespread criminality at school board meetings where parents and concerned citizens have expressed their opposition and outrage to the 'progressive' agenda being forced upon their children in the public schools," the 20-paged lawsuit said.
"Yet, the Attorney General considers these private citizens engaging in constitutionally protected activity to be domestic terrorists. Accordingly, the Attorney General labels these private citizens, which includes Plaintiffs, as domestic terrorists," it added.
The lawsuit also pointed out that Garland had no jurisdiction to interfere on the matter since he had "no general federal police power." It cited the nationwide scope of violence caused by the Antifa and Black Lives Matter that the "Attorney General has done nothing to stop" since he allegedly "agrees" with the "political viewpoint" promoted by these organizations.
The lawsuit identified three areas of relief that were violated by the memorandum, which involved First Amendment rights on Free Speech and Expressive Association and Fifth Amendment rights on Equal Protection and Parental Rights.
American Freedom Law Center Co-Founder and Senior Counsel David Yerushalmi called the parents "brave" for standing against "the progressive movement" that aims to "dismantle the constitution and the Republic." Yerushalmi said the Biden Administration is set to have a future that criminalizes free speech that opposes their agenda. He called it a "battle" for the country's "very existence."
"The Biden administration, the Obama administration before that, and the faceless bureaucrats in our nation's capital who effectively annulled the Trump administration, are in this fight for keeps and seek a future in which free speech means 'social justice' speech and any and all opposition is criminalized 'hate speech' or 'domestic terrorism.' This is a battle for not just the heart and soul of this country, but its very existence. If speaking this truth can put you in jail, the future is here," Yerushalmi said.
