Documents Show FBI Officials Raised Concerns Before 2021 School Board Memo

Internal emails show that then-FBI Deputy Assistant Director Jay Greenberg wrote to Justice Department officials on Oct. 4, 2021, requesting additional time before the department released messaging related to school board meetings. Greenberg stated that investigators in the bureau were not aligned with the department on the approach outlined in the memo.

The communications were obtained by America First Legal after a Freedom of Information battle with the Justice Department.

Background on the Memo The Oct. 4, 2021, memo directed federal resources toward incidents at school board meetings. It followed a letter from the National School Boards Association describing threats and disruptions at those meetings. Emails indicate that a White House Domestic Policy Council official had been in contact with the National School Boards Association and helped facilitate the transmission of its concerns to the Justice Department.

A list circulated internally identified 28 cases of disruptions at school board meetings, most involving rowdy behavior or anti-mask activity. America First Legal also previously obtained documents showing White House involvement in drafting the memo.

Republican lawmakers had questioned the Justice Department about the memo, citing concerns over federal involvement in local matters. Multiple states filed lawsuits challenging the memo. "These documents prove that the Biden Administration ignored explicit warnings from the FBI's own leadership and the National Sheriffs Association to appease radical leftist activists," Ian Prior, senior advisor at America First Legal, said in a statement.