Yakima Police Say No Push For FBI to Investigate School Board Threats
Yakima Police officials say the Federal Bureau of Investigation is not contacting local authorities to investigate alleged threats being made against school board officials.
THE AG GARLAND IS TAKING ACTION
The Attorney General Merrick Garland has directed the FBI and U.S. Attorneys’ Offices to investigate the threats and work with local law enforcement. Garland says there’s a growing group of parents who are mad about Critical Race Theory and COVID-19 restrictions imposed on students. The order from Garland was announced in a Monday memo after the National School Boards Association urged the Biden administration to investigate the actions by parents as a violation of the Patriot Act, a statute enacted after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.
A MEETING TUESDAY WAS HELD BETWEEN POLICE AND FBI
Yakima Police Capt. Jay Seely says they met Tuesday with the resident FBI agent in charge in the Yakima area and there was no mention of the FBI being involved with any security or investigation of school board threats.
Police have not reported any public threats against school board members in the Yakima area. Many school boards have been meeting on zoom during the pandemic so not a lot of public in person meetings have happened in Yakima over the last two years. Some school boards in the valley are back to meeting in person while others are staying with remote meetings.
EDUCATION SECRETARY IS IN FULL SUPPORT OF THE ACTION BEING TAKEN
According to FOX News “At a U.S. Senate committee hearing on Thursday, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona decried the hostility against school board members and praised their "unwavering support" to reopen schools safely. He said the lack of civility in some meetings is disappointing and, in some places, it has been "very dangerous."