A poll published this past August by Rasmussen Reports found that trust in the FBI has plummeted, with almost half of Americans saying they view the law enforcement agency unfavorably.
Those findings are undoubtedly due in part to a belief that the Department of Justice (DOJ) has become a politicized actor. One lawmaker recently suggested that it could create a nightmare for millions of Americans.
DOJ threatened concerned parents
During an interview on Sunday with Fox News host Mark Levin, Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan (R) recalled how the National School Boards Association (NSBA) sent a letter to President Joe Biden in which it warned of potential violence from parents.
Specifically, the letter asserted that parents who voiced objection to what their children were being taught regarding matter of race and sexuality were engaging in “hate crimes and “a form of domestic terrorism and hate crimes.”
Attorney General Merrick Garland responded by issuing a memo that instructed the FBI to “address the rise in criminal conduct towards school personnel.
Merrick Garland mobilized the FBI to intimidate parents without legal basis and, we now know, premised on misinformation he didn’t bother to verify. It was a dangerous abuse of authority that has badly compromised the Justice Dept’s integrity and Garland’s. He should resign. https://t.co/MXKN5j0L5g
— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) October 23, 2021
However, the NSBA later apologized after that letter emerged following communications with the Biden White House.
“Scary stuff”
Fox News reported in October of last year that the conservative group Parents Defending Education had used public records requests to obtain emails showing there had been “weeks” of discussion between the NSBA and administration staff.
While speaking with Levin, Jordan raised the ability of outside groups to weaponize federal law enforcement, calling it “scary stuff.”
“[I]f your White House and our Justice Department that we pay for — if they’re encouraging a left-wing political group to write them a letter as a pretext to go after parents, to go after moms and dads who simply are trying to do what’s best for their kids’ education — if you encourage that, if you put that in the letter, that is scary stuff,” he said.
Jordan also brought up the case of a pro-life activist in Pennsylvania whose home was raided by federal agents.
“We’re going to go to his house with 20 agents, guns drawn, kick in his door and do it in front of his wife and children. Someone made that decision. Who was it?” he demanded.