The National School Boards Association (NSBA) wanted the Army National Guard to monitor school board meetings in an early draft of its infamous letter to the White House. The NSBA had originally sent a letter to President Biden in September 2021 that asked for parents protesting at school board meetings to be monitored by federal law enforcement.
In February, the NSBA hired attorney Philip Kiko and the law firm of Michael Best & Friedrich LLP to conduct an independent review of the events and procedures surrounding the infamous letter to the White House. A rough draft of the letter was obtained as part of the review.
“We ask that the Army National Guard and its Military Police be deployed to certain school districts and related events where students and school personnel have been subjected to acts and threats of violence,” the NSBA said in a draft of its letter.
In its final version that did reach the White House, the organization asked federal law enforcement to investigate parents under the Patriot Act.
Attorney General Merrick Garland happily obliged the request and quickly commissioned a task force responsible for investigating parents. “While spirited debate about policy matters is protected under our Constitution, that protection does not extend to threats of violence or efforts to intimidate individuals based on their views,” Garland wrote in a memo that failed to list a single example.
The October memo further directed the FBI to coordinate with state and local law enforcement agencies in order to keep tabs on those opposed to leftist ideology in schools. Garland later denied using counter-terrorism tactics to monitor parents during a Congressional hearing.
The NSBA’s early draft also referred to concerned parents as “plotters who are targeting schools and educators”, according to Fox News. In addition, the independent review also showed collaboration between the NSBA, the White House and the Department of Justice.