Rep. Jim Banks Demanding Answers Concerning School Board Group’s Letter

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Oct 7, 2021

Rep. Jim Banks, a Republican from Indiana, wants the National School Boards Association (NSBA) to explain why they are absolutely convinced that the Justice Department Needs to get the FBI and U.S. attorneys to look into disputes involving parents at public school board meetings.

“You don’t cite a single instance of local law enforcement failing to arrest criminals who’ve broken the law,” Banks wrote in his letter that was a response to the group’s letter which was obtained by the Daily Caller.

“You posture as victims while pushing for authoritarianism,” he continued.

via Newsmax:

The NSBA has asked the Biden administration to invoke the Patriot Act and federal hate crimes legislation, among other measures, to go after parents who have aggressively opposed school board policies and members who have adopted measures such as mask mandates and the teaching of critical race theory curricula.

The school boards group went on to make the assertion that ”education leaders are under an immediate threat.”

There was a request ”to deal with the growing number of threats of violence and acts of intimidation occurring across the nation” comes as reports of angry parents expressing opposition to COVID-19 policies and curriculum changes — particularly those tied to critical race theory — have become more frequent.”

But the NSBA asked the administration to consider if threats and acts directed at school boards “could be the equivalent to a form of domestic terrorism and hate crimes.”

Banks then stated in his letter that the NSBA “intentionally muddles the distinction between protected speech and unlawful violence,” while “conflat[ing] disagreement with violence in an attempt to convince federal law-enforcement to crack down on [their] political opponents.”

Banks then posted up a tweet saying, ” @NSBAPublicEd’s letter is shameful. It calls on the DOJ to target their political enemies with the Patriot Act…are you kidding? There are many decent school board members in Indiana. They should be embarrassed by this.”

Meanwhile, Attorney General Merrick Garland is mobilizing the Justice Department to “investigate and prosecute” the mounting disputes at public school board meetings and schools.

“Threats against public servants are not only illegal, they run counter to our nation’s core values,” Garland stated in a memo sent out on Monday to FBI Director Christopher Wray and Justice Department prosecutors.