The year 2021 was not an easy one to be a school board member. Some parents had concerns about the use of critical race theory in the curriculum, and many were angry about school closings and restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Public school board meetings grew increasingly contentious in many districts.
In October of that year, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland issued a controversial order directing the FBI and other federal agencies to identify and prosecute violent threats and harassment from parents attending school board meetings.
Garland issued the memo days after the National School Board Association (NSBA) sent a letter asking the Biden administration to halt a growing problem of violence or threats of violence directed at school board members. The letter documented 20 such incidents at school board meetings across the country.