The FBI opened 25 «Guardian assessments» involving parents after then-Attorney General Merrick Garland issued an Oct. 4, 2021, memorandum addressing threats against school officials, according to a Justice Department report released Monday by the department's Weaponization Working Group. The report says one mother was investigated after a tip that noted she owned a gun and belonged to what was described as a «right-wing mom's group» — an organization a separate joint DOJ-Education Department release identified as Moms for Liberty.
The findings drew a sharp response from Moms for Liberty co-founder Tina Descovich, who said the report brought her organization a sense of «vindication» after years of what she described as government pressure on parents. «We feel we're finally being heard,» Descovich said. She said parents affiliated with the group became fearful of speaking publicly after the Justice Department and FBI responded to heated school board battles beginning in 2021, with some receiving calls asking about their mental health and whether they had weapons in their homes.
«Parents were afraid to show up,» Descovich said. «They were afraid to lose their jobs. They were members of our organization, sometimes privately and silently standing with us, but too afraid to speak out because of what our government did in the United States of America.» She added that parents «need to not forget where we were in 2021 as we go into these midterm elections.»
The report says an FBI whistleblower disclosed that the mother was investigated following a tip that cited her gun ownership and her membership in the group. According to the DOJ press release, personnel internally called the effort «ridiculous,» raised First Amendment concerns and said it appeared political, but emails show Garland issued the memo after being persuaded by Biden White House officials. The Working Group concluded the memo «was the product of pressure exerted by the White House and wrongly weaponized the Department of Justice against parents.»
Descovich said the effect of the Biden-era threat tag, which she said was founded on using the Patriot Act against parents showing up at school board meetings, «sent a chill through the country.» She called it «absurd» that a federal report had to affirm that parents are not domestic terrorists, describing the moment as a return to normalcy. «We have known since 2021 that the DOJ and the FBI under the Biden administration were basically enemies to parents and to Moms for Liberty,» she said, adding that parents received case numbers and file numbers after attending school board meetings.
Looking ahead, Descovich said accountability should continue through the midterm elections. «There needs to be accountability to a government that was out of control,» she said. «The first step of accountability was losing their power and their election, and we need to continue that through the midterms, because we cannot give power back to the people that weaponized the government against citizens, against ordinary parents.» She also said she hopes the current administration will take further steps to hold accountable the individuals who drove the investigations.
Fox News Digital reached out to the FBI and the White House for comment. The Department of Education deferred to its press release and letter on the matter. The report's release adds new detail to a long-running dispute over how federal law enforcement handled threats against school officials and the parents who organized against pandemic-era school policies.