On Monday, the Supreme Court declined to hear a case brought by parents who accused the Department of Justice of improperly using the FBI to target them for their opposition to school board curricula or policies, the Washington Examiner reported.
The case, initially filed three years ago and spearheaded by the America Freedom Law Center, claimed that a 2021 memo issued by Attorney General Merrick Garland had unlawfully used the FBI to target parents opposed to "the divisive, harmful, immoral, and racist policies of the 'progressive' Left that are being implemented by school boards and school officials in public school districts throughout the United States."
"In [Garland's] memorandum," the lawsuit noted, "the Attorney General expressly mentions the FBI as a further tool of intimidation. Conducting investigations and surveillance, which is what the FBI does, on private citizens because of their dissident political views is prohibited by our Constitution."
The parents involved hail from Saline, Michigan, and Loudoun, Virginia, representing a broader group of parents nationwide. The memo was issued in response to what Garland described as a "disturbing spike in harassment, intimidation, and threats of violence" against school personnel. But the parents argued this was only a pretext to suppress their First Amendment and opposition to policies on transgender issues and the teaching of critical race theory.
A lower federal court in Washington, D.C., dismissed the case, after the DOJ argued that the parents bringing the case were not directly targeted by the actions outlined in the memo.
"The policy," the DOJ attorneys wrote, "that Plaintiffs purport to be challenging — supposedly 'to use federal law enforcement resources to silence parents' who oppose certain school policies — does not exist."
This decision was upheld by an appellate court, leading to the plaintiffs to appeal to the Supreme Court, which has now decided not to take up the case.
The Supreme Court's action effectively leaves the lower court's ruling in place.
Nick Koutsobinas ✉
Nick Koutsobinas, a Newsmax writer, has years of news reporting experience. A graduate from Missouri State University’s philosophy program, he focuses on exposing corruption and censorship.
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