Ted Cruz blasts AG Merrick Garland over memo targeting American parents who show up at school board meetings

Sen. Ted Cruz ripped into Attorney General Merrick Garland this week during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in which the Texas Republican and other GOP members demanded to know more about a memo sent to U.S. attorneys and the FBI instructing them to work with local police to investigate parents who show up to protest policies at local school board meetings.

In response to a Sept. 29 National School Boards Association letter which likened parents protesting at school board meetings to “domestic terrorists,” the DoJ instructed the FBI to begin work on curbing “harassment” and “threats of violence” against school administrators after the department said the number of such incidents has risen in the past year.

“Threats against public servants are not only illegal, they run counter to our nation’s core values,” said Garland in an Oct. 4 statement. “Those who dedicate their time and energy to ensuring that our children receive a proper education in a safe environment deserve to be able to do their work without fear for their safety.”

“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,” Garland noted further in a memo. “In the coming days, the Department will announce a series of measures designed to address the rise in criminal conduct directed toward school personnel.”

The memo not only infuriated parents but Republicans and conservatives inside and outside of Congress as well for its blatant effort to intimidate parents into silence.

And Cruz, a Texas Republican, wasn’t having any of it.

During this week’s hearing, Cruz inquired of the AG: “Let me ask you something, (Attorney) General Garland: In the letter, which you told the House of Representatives was the basis for this abusive memo targeting parents, how many incidents are cited in that memo?”

“I have to look back through the memo,” Garland answered.

“You don’t know. How many of them were violent?” Cruz asked.

“Again, the general report—” Garland began.

“How many of them were violent?” Cruz persisted.

“I don’t know,” Garland admitted.

Cruz asserted, “You don’t know. And there’s a reason you don’t know. Because you didn’t care and nobody in your office cared to find out.

“I did a quick count just sitting here during this hearing; I counted 20 incidents cited. Of the 20, 15 on their face are non-violent. They involve things like insults; they involve a Nazi salute. That’s one of the examples. My God, a parent did a Nazi salute at a school board because he thought the policies were oppressive. General Garland, is doing a Nazi salute at an elected official, is that protected by the First Amendment?” Cruz demanded to know.

Garland replied, “Yes, it is.”

Other Republicans, including Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas and Josh Hawley of Missouri, demanded that Garland resign.

And one GOP governor, Ron DeSantis of Florida, vowed to push back against any federal attempt to harass parents in his state.

“To mobilize the FBI, there’s no need for it, of course. There’s not been any sense that somehow [Florida law enforcement] weren’t going to do their job if need be,” DeSantis said. “The reason to do that is to intimidate parents, is to squelch dissent, is to have them shut up and just take it even when they strongly disagree with what may be happening with their kid.

“We’re not going to let the federal government come in and impose bad policies or mandates on Floridians,” he continued. “We’re going to make sure we’re protecting parents and students in the state of Florida. We’re not going to let the Department of Justice be weaponized to infringe First Amendment rights of parents. We are going to fight to preserve the rights of parents. And as we continue to see the use of fear and intimidation to suppress opposition to the regime, we’re going to find new ways to be able to empower parents’ rights to decide what is best for their children.”

The Biden regime is full of tyrants, just like every other Democratic administration in the modern era.

Sources include:

USAFeatures.news

Justice.gov