FOIA Reveals Biden’s Role in Garland Memo that Impacted Nevada Parents
In 2021, a controversial memo from then-Attorney General Merrick Garland, directing the FBI to address threats against school officials, stirred national debate over parental rights and free speech. Prompted by a National School Boards Association (NSBA) letter labeling parent protests as potential “domestic terrorism,” the memo’s impact reverberated in Nevada, where school boards faced heated local disputes. New documents from America First Legal (AFL), via a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, reveal Biden White House coordination behind the memo, raising questions about its effects on Nevada’s education landscape.
The Garland memo requested federal intervention against parental backlash over critical race theory (CRT), diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies, and gender identity curricula. FOIA documents show the Biden White House, including senior adviser Mary Wall, collaborated with the DOJ, bypassing objections from career attorneys like Robert Moossy, who argued most cited behaviors were protected by the First Amendment or covered by local laws like Nevada’s trespass statutes (NRS 393.080).
*NRS 393.080 states that any person who willfully disrupts the operation of a public school or trespasses on school property without lawful purpose is guilty of a misdemeanor. This includes refusing to leave when directed by school officials.
Nevada’s school boards, particularly in Clark and Washoe Counties, were already grappling with contentious meetings in 2021. At the Clark County school district, the nation’s fifth-largest school district, protests over mask mandates and CRT led to increased security, with one 2021 meeting requiring police presence after disruptions. Meanwhile, Fearing being mislabeled as threats, Washoe County School District parents shied away from school board meetings. In a 2021 social media post, A Reno parent branded the memo a “federal scare tactic,” reflecting widespread unease. In response, the Nevada Association of School Boards (NASB) held 2022 workshops to better manage public comment, addressing the memo’s fallout.
AFL’s FOIA documents reveal the Biden White House’s coordination with the DOJ, suggesting a politically driven effort, despite DOJ attorneys’ warnings about First Amendment violations.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi revoked the memo in 2025, a move Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo praised as a “win for local control and free speech,”
The Garland memo, though short-lived, left a mark on Nevada’s education landscape, deepening divides but also galvanizing parental advocacy. With no prosecutions and minimal federal impact locally, Nevada’s school boards continue to prioritize local solutions. As one Washoe County teacher noted in a 2021 interview with the Reno Gazette Journal, “We need open dialogue, not fear of federal labels.”
