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Biden DOJ Sought ‘Hook’ to Charge Concerned Parents as ‘Domestic Terrorists,’ Leaked Emails Reveal
July 20, 2025 |
A shocking series of newly uncovered internal emails reveal that under former President Joe Biden, top officials at the Department of Justice (DOJ) actively searched for a legal “hook” to target concerned parents as domestic terrorists, despite knowing their actions were largely protected by the First Amendment.
The emails, obtained by America First Legal (AFL) and reported by The Federalist, paint a disturbing picture of how political operatives within the Biden DOJ, White House, and National School Boards Association (NSBA) worked in tandem to suppress dissent from parents who opposed critical race theory, transgender policies, and COVID-19 mandates in public schools.
Internal Emails: No Legal Grounds, But Political Motivation
In an October 1, 2021, email, Kevin Chambers, then Associate Deputy Attorney General, candidly admitted:
“We’re aware; the challenge here is finding a federal hook. But WH has been in touch about whether we can assist in some form or fashion.”
The phrase “federal hook” referred to finding any justification—no matter how thin—to bring federal charges against parents who spoke out during school board meetings across the country.
This email came just days before former Attorney General Merrick Garland’s infamous Oct. 4 memo, which directed the FBI and U.S. Attorneys to investigate parents under domestic terrorism protocols.
Civil Rights Division Warned DOJ: This Isn’t Legal
Perhaps even more damning are internal objections from career attorneys within the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division who warned that most of the targeted behavior was not illegal under federal law:
“Almost all of the language being used is protected by the First Amendment… the main issue seems to be disruption and obstruction of school board meetings… nothing remotely federal,” one attorney wrote on October 3.
Another attorney explicitly raised concern about wasting federal manpower on a non-federal issue:
“It appears to me that the vast, vast majority of the behavior cited cannot be reached by federal law.”
Despite these legal objections, DOJ officials forged ahead. By the following day, Shaylyn Cochran from the Civil Rights Division began circulating drafts of Garland’s memo, which would soon mobilize federal resources to surveil and intimidate parents nationwide.
The NSBA Letter: A Coordinated Setup?
The newly released documents complete a timeline showing the Biden White House was in direct communication with the NSBA, even helping coordinate the controversial letter that labeled parents as domestic terrorists.
That letter provided the political pretext for the DOJ’s actions — and now appears to have been a pre-planned maneuver to justify cracking down on parental dissent, especially in Virginia, where the gubernatorial election was underway.
“They did so with political intentions,” said AFL President Gene Hamilton,
“…to influence the Virginia gubernatorial election, and more broadly chill dissent across the United States.”
Parents vs. Government: A Political Earthquake in 2021
The backlash to Garland’s memo and the DOJ’s actions created a massive political shift, particularly in states like Virginia, where parents became the defining voice in the 2021 election that handed the governorship to Republican Glenn Youngkin.
“The Garland Memo is one of the most scandalous attempts to deprive Americans of their rights in the history of our republic,” said AFL Senior Advisor Ian Prior.
The documents show that concerned parents were never a threat, but the Biden administration was willing to weaponize federal law enforcement to silence them anyway.
Stretching the Law: “Use the FACE Act”
In their scramble to invent a legal strategy, one DOJ attorney even suggested misusing the FACE Act—a federal law originally created to protect access to abortion clinics—to criminalize disruptions at school board meetings.
The FACE Act has been previously criticized for being misapplied by the Biden DOJ to target peaceful pro-life protesters. Its potential use here raises serious alarms about the administration’s willingness to twist federal statutes for political goals.
Trump Administration, Supreme Court Strike Back
In the wake of these revelations, the Trump administration, now back in power, has vowed to protect parental rights and dismantle weaponized federal agencies.
The U.S. Supreme Court has also begun reviewing cases related to First Amendment protections for parents, and several state attorneys general have launched investigations into school districts and DOJ conduct tied to the 2021 memo.
Parents’ groups, school choice advocates, and constitutional watchdogs are now organizing to demand accountability for what they see as a gross abuse of power under the Biden administration.
Final Thoughts: The First Amendment Under Fire
This story is not just about school board meetings — it’s about whether the federal government can use terrorism laws to silence political opposition.
Parents who dared to speak out in 2021 have now been vindicated, but the damage to civil liberties and public trust in the DOJ remains.
The “federal hook” they were searching for may ultimately become the legal noose around the Biden administration’s legacy.
