The FBI created a “threat tag” to track allegedly menacing statements made against school boards and their members after Attorney General Merrick Garland directed the bureau take the lead on the hyper-local disputes, a whistleblower has revealed.
The email, dated Oct. 20, was released Tuesday by House Judiciary Committee Republicans, who said the missive was proof that federal counterterrorism was being deployed against parents at school board meetings.
The email, which House Republicans said came from a whistleblower, showed the creation of the tag “EDUOFFICIALS” to track related threats.
“We ask that your offices apply the threat tag to investigations and assessments of threats specifically directed against school board administrators, board members, teachers, and staff,” the email to the Criminal Investigative and Counterterrorism divisions says.
“The purpose of the threat tag is to help scope this threat on a national level and provide an opportunity for comprehensive analysis of the threat picture for effective engagement with law enforcement partners at all levels.”
Agents are asked to consider if there’s a federal nexus, if there are potential federal violations and what the motivation is in the letter.
The joint message was sent by Carlton Peebles, deputy assistant director of the FBI Criminal Investigative Division, on behalf of leadership of the Criminal Investigative and Counterterrorism divisions. It says the agency’s divisions share an obligation to ensure “...
(The Lion) — A Senate Democrat has proposed a bill to repeal the federal Education Freedom Tax Credit, which passed in President Donald Trump’s budget bill last year. Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Arizona, m...