Whistleblowers claim FBI mobilized counterterrorism resources against parents, contradicting AG Garland’s sworn testimony in October

On May 11, 2022, Ohio Congressman Jim Jordan sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland with specific examples of how the FBI labeled dozens of investigations of parents with the threat tag, EDUOFFICIALS. This tag was created by their counter-terrorism division to assess and track investigations related to school boards. According to whistleblowers, the FBI opened investigations in almost every region of the country using the EDUOFFICIALS threat tag and these investigations related to almost every educational setting.

Attorney General Merrick Garland denied during sworn testimony on October 22 before the House Oversight Committee that the FBI was investigating parents. (He said the same during a Senate oversight hearing on October 27th.) But in a joint memo dated October 20th, the Criminal Investigation Division and Counterterrorism Division indicate (in writing) that they have created a threat tag—EDUOFFICIALS. We now know that dozens of investigations of parents were opened using that tag.