Gov. DeSantis Pushes Back Against Feds On Threats to Educators

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TALLAHASSEE (CBSMiami/NSF) – Gov. Ron DeSantis signaled Tuesday that Florida volition combat a national effort to code a spike successful threats against educators.

DeSantis responded connected Twitter to a determination Monday by U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland ordering the FBI to enactment with section officials to assistance code a “disturbing spike successful harassment, intimidation and threats of violence” against educators and schoolhouse committee members implicit arguable issues specified arsenic disguise mandates and the teaching of “critical contention theory.”

“Attorney General Garland is weaponizing the DOJ (Department of Justice) by utilizing the FBI to prosecute acrophobic parents and soundlessness them done intimidation,” DeSantis tweeted connected Tuesday. “Florida volition support the escaped code rights of its citizens and volition not let national agents to squelch dissent.”

Garland’s directive to FBI Director Christopher A. Wray and national prosecutors calls for strategy sessions to beryllium held successful the adjacent 30 days to nutrient measures to code “the emergence successful transgression behaviour directed toward schoolhouse personnel.”

“While spirited statement astir argumentation matters is protected nether our Constitution, that extortion does not widen to threats of unit oregon efforts to intimidate individuals based connected their views,” Garland wrote. “Threats against nationalist servants are not lone illegal, they tally antagonistic to our nation’s halfway values. Those who dedicate their clip and vigor to ensuring that our children person a due acquisition successful a harmless situation merit to beryllium capable to bash their enactment without fearfulness for their safety.”

The National School Boards Association, which represents schoolhouse committee members, precocious asked President Joe Biden to assistance analyse threats against educators, attributing the emergence to disguise mandates intended to dilatory the dispersed of COVID-19.

The relation pointed to instances of intimidation, threats, and harassment successful states specified arsenic Florida, California, Georgia, New Jersey, and Ohio.

DeSantis successful July issued an enforcement bid aimed astatine preventing Florida schoolhouse districts from requiring students to deterioration masks during the pandemic and has backed efforts to artifact the teaching of “critical contention theory,” which is based connected the premise that racism is embedded wrong American nine and institutions.

A flashpoint for Republicans nationally, the arguable mentation isn’t taught successful Florida nationalist schools. However, successful June the State Board of Education approved a regularisation placing guidelines connected the mode U.S. past tin beryllium taught.

State Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, a Democrat moving for politician successful 2022, tweeted connected Tuesday that Garland “is utilizing instrumentality and bid to support children, parents and teachers from crime.”

“Florida volition proceed to beryllium embarrassed by Governor DeSantis and his contempt for the instrumentality and the information of our children,” Fried added successful the tweet.

DeSantis’ tweet drew enactment from the Republican Party of Florida.

“Governor @RonDeSantisFL volition ever basal with parents and the rights to escaped speech. The intimidation of families is not the American way,” the enactment posted connected Twitter.

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(©2021 CBS Local Media. All rights reserved. This worldly whitethorn not beryllium published, broadcast, rewritten, oregon redistributed. The News Service of Florida’s Jim Turner contributed to this report.)