Sen. Tim Scott said that under President Joe Biden, the Justice Department labels concerned parents at school board meetings “domestic terrorists.” But that claim has been repeatedly disproved.
The memo addressed only criminal conduct; Garland explicitly noted that"spirited debate about policy matters is protected under our Constitution." The memo neither included the word"terrorism," nor did it label parents"domestic terrorists."
Still, Garland’s response sparked concerns about the suppression of parents’ First Amendment rights. House Republicans questioned Garland about the characterization of parents as ‘domestic terrorists’"I do not believe that parents who testify, speak, argue with, complain about school boards and schools should be classified as domestic terrorists or any kind of criminals," he said.
And in September 2022, a Trump-nominated federal judge struck down a lawsuit against Garland that alleged a stifling of parents’ First Amendment rights. In the, Judge Dabney Friedrich wrote that"the Attorney General’s memorandum does not apply to the plaintiffs’ activities, and even if it did, the policy does not label anyone a domestic terrorist, as the plaintiffs suggest … Nor does it create a reputational association.
PolitiFact reached out to the Justice Department and verified that there have been no further developments on the case since our last report in March. We also contacted Scott’s spokesperson but received no reply.Scott said,"Think about parents who show up at school board meetings. By this DOJ, they’re called domestic terrorists."
This claim is inaccurate. In 2021, Garland directed the FBI to address the rise in criminal conduct against school board members and develop protocol in partnership with local leaders in order to handle threats. The memo did not use"domestic terrorist" to describe parents at school board meetings and noted that"spirited debate" is protected by the Constitution. A Trump-appointed judge also ruled that Garland did not apply this label to parents.," accessed June 19, 2023.
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