By Jon Brown
A group of mothers gathered to protest at the headquarters of the National School Boards Association (NSBA) in Alexandria, Virginia, on Wednesday.
Moms for America, which says it is "a national movement of mothers reclaiming our culture for truth, family, freedom and the Constitution," according to their website, joined together at the NSBA headquarters to protest the organization's recent call for the Biden administration to get involved in school board disputes.
"Moms for America, @CPAC and parents stand together against the corruption and tyrannical behavior of the National School Boards Association," tweeted Mercedes Schlapp, a former senior Donald Trump White House aide who attended the event. "Calling parents domestic terrorists is a grave insult, and their apology is not enough. Fight for our schools. Protect our students."
Kimberly Fletcher, who is founder and president of Moms for America, told Fox News that her organization "is actively encouraging mothers across the country to submit public records requests to their school board to find out how much money is being spent from the school district to these lobbying associations that are lobbying against parental rights and our children."
Fletcher explained that her organization takes issue not just with the NSBA and its state affiliates, but also the school board treasurers, the School Superintendents Association (AASA) and the National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE).
"All of those organizations are given money from the school district out of our taxpayer money," said Fletcher. "Public funds are going to these lobbying organizations, and we want that money returned back to the classroom."
Fletcher also explained how her organization is encouraging mothers to advocate for their children by urging them "to be our investigators on the ground, to help them know if something makes them feel uncomfortable, or they don't think it's right, to come home and let us know."
"And then we can investigate that and make sure that the education that they're receiving is the quality education that we want without the political indoctrination," she added.
Opponents of the academic doctrine known as Critical Race Theory protest outside of the Loudoun County School Board headquarters, in Ashburn, Virginia, June 22, 2021. (REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein)
The Moms for America's demonstration comes the same day that Attorney General Merrick Garland testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee regarding several contentious issues, including the recent memo he sent to Justice Department employees about intervening in violence, threats and intimidation targeting school board officials.
Republican senators excoriated Garland for the memo, which was sent days after the NSBA sent a letter to President Biden calling for the use of measures against parents, including the Patriot Act, which is typically used to combat terrorism. The letter said that some "acts of malice, violence, and threats against public school officials" could amount to domestic terrorism.
After stoking outrage, the NSBA walked back their rhetoric, saying its leaders "regret and apologize for the letter" and that "there was no justification for some of the language" used.
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland appears before the House Judiciary Committee oversight hearing on October 21. (Michael Reynolds/Pool via REUTERS)
"They don't regret what they said," Garland said of the NSBA letter. "It's very clear. They meant what they said and so did the DOJ."
Fletcher noted that "the one thing that their letter did do was show that the pressure that we put on is making a difference. We are in the middle of a mom-led revolution, and Moms for America is right at the forefront."
Fletcher said she and her organization will continue to stand for parental rights, which she said are both fundamental and constitutionally protected.
In this Aug. 12, 2021 file photo, protesters against a COVID-19 mandate gesture as they are escorted out of the Clark County School Board meeting at the Clark County Government Center, in Las Vegas. (Bizuayehu Tesfaye/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP, File)
"If we have to take it all the way to the legislatures to get these funds pulled from these organizations from our public funds, then that's what we'll do," she added, applauding the state associations that have already cut ties with the NSBA.
(Source: Fox News)
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