House Judiciary Committee grills AG Garland's misguided memo to FBI
The following quote may be attributed to Alliance Defending Freedom General Counsel Kristen Waggoner regarding U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland’s testimony Thursday during a House Judiciary Committee hearing:
“Today, Attorney General Garland failed to provide concrete evidence to support his aggressive and misguided directive to use federal law enforcement to investigate parents exercising their First Amendment rights at local school board meetings, presumably using the same federal laws employed to investigate domestic terrorism and other criminal activities.
“Let’s be clear: Parents expressing concern over school boards that take their cues from powerful, agenda-driven activists working to undermine the role of parents in their children’s education does not equate to domestic terrorism. Showing up at school board meetings to ask questions about the curriculum your child is being taught, the efficacy of sweeping COVID-19 mandates, or the enforcement of gender identity policies that could violate your daughter’s rights to privacy and safety makes you a good parent and a good citizen. One need look no further than Loudoun County, Virginia where a high school girl was sexually assaulted in a bathroom by a boy wearing a skirt to understand why parents insist on being involved in their child’s education.
“The protests of these concerned parents do not warrant the involvement of federal law enforcement, or the application of federal laws aimed at stopping terror organizations. It chills the constitutionally protected speech of those who rightly object to ill-considered policies that harm our nation’s schoolchildren. Many parents, including some of our clients, are justifiably concerned that the government has violated their fundamental right to direct the upbringing, education, and care of their children. ADF stands with concerned parents across the country—the government can’t silence their voices or stop them from peacefully engaging in their children’s education.”
On Oct. 6, ADF sent a letter to Attorney General Garland asking him to rescind his decision to direct the FBI to convene meetings and consider actions in concert with other federal agencies regarding the “threat” such parents pose.
Alliance Defending Freedom is an alliance-building, non-profit legal organization committed to protecting religious freedom, free speech, parental rights, and the sanctity of life.
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ABOUT Kristen Waggoner
As the CEO, president, and general counsel of Alliance Defending Freedom, Kristen Waggoner leads the faith-based legal organization in protecting fundamental freedoms and promoting the inherent dignity of all people throughout the U.S. and around the world. Waggoner oversees the efforts of more than 400 ADF team members in seven global offices as well as nearly 5,000 network attorneys engaged in litigation, legislation, training, funding, and public advocacy. ADF also provides legal counsel to over 3,500 churches and ministries through its Ministry Alliance program and defends the persecuted church in dozens of countries. Since 2011, ADF has won 15 cases at the U.S. Supreme Court, including serving on Mississippi’s legal team in the case that overturned Roe v. Wade. Waggoner successfully argued three of those cases: Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, Uzuebgunam v. Presczewski, and 303 Creative v. Elenis. She is a Peer Review Rated AV® Preeminent™ attorney in Martindale-Hubbell, who clerked for Justice Richard B. Sanders of the Washington Supreme Court after law school and served in private practice in Seattle for nearly 20 years.