FBI whistleblower exposes 'threat tag' for parents
Manhattan Institute fellow Chris Rufo joins 'America Reports'
The emergence of an FBI whistleblower with documentation of new "threat tags" for parents who speak out or become unruly at school board meetings is more proof that Attorney General Merrick Garland misled Congress and is "running interference for the teachers unions" who largely support the far-left critical race theory curriculum, Manhattan Institute fellow Chris Rufo told Fox News on Thursday.
"At the very minimum [Garland] misled Congress. It’s likely he actually lied to Congress," Rufo said. "We know from these whistleblower documents that the FBI has mobilized the counter-terrorism division against everyday moms and dads protesting at school board meetings.
Attorney General Merrick Garland is sworn in during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing examining the Department of Justice on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2021. (Tom Brenner/Pool via AP) (Tom Brenner/Pool via AP)
"We have the documentation dating back more than a month. Merrick Garland [is] running interference for the teachers unions and school board association, trying to deflect this anger away from school board."
In a statement to Fox News, the FBI denied allegations it is actively surveilling or investigating parents who oppose their elected school board members, writing that it "has never been in the business of investigating parents who speak out or policing speech at school board meetings and we are not going to start now."
"The creation of a threat tag in no way changes the longstanding requirements for opening an investigation," the bureau's statement concluded.
Rufo disagreed, saying the bureau -- currently led by Christopher Wray, a former Bush DOJ official and later attorney for then-New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie during the 2013 George Washington "BridgeGate" scandal – is on the opposing side of parents and civilians in this controversy.
FBI Director Christopher Wray testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, March 2, 2021. (Mandel Ngan/Pool via AP)
"This is the battle. It’s the parents versus the bureaucrats. I side with parents," he said.
Rufo noted that some prominent liberals, like comedian and contemporary political commentator Bill Maher, have spoken out against the left's"woke" agenda.
Maher said Wednesday in an interview on CNN that Democrats have become the party of "no common sense."
"There is a reason why the term woke has come to signify going too far and doing things that don’t make sense," Maher added.