Rep. Guy Reschenthaler decried on Newsmax the notion that speech should be considered an act of violence. Reschenthaler's comment comes in light of a recent memorandum issued by Attorney General Merrick Garland.
Appearing Wednesday on "The Chris Salcedo Show," the Pennsylvania Republican said: "It's very clear that the left and the mainstream media, that their violence is equated to speech.
''As conservatives, our speech is equated to violence. And that's the big takeaway, from what you're seeing, how the DOJ is handling these teachers and how they sat on their hands and still, to my knowledge, have not designated antifa as domestic terrorists but want to put that label on concerned parents," he said.
Last week, the National School Boards Association (NSBA) sent a letter to President Joe Biden requesting assistance from the Department of Justice to look into acts of "domestic terrorism" in schools. The letter also suggested that parents are causing it.
Soon after the NSBA issued the letter, a memorandum from Garland followed. In the memorandum, Garland stated that he is directing the FBI to "open dedicated lines of communication for threat reporting."
Some conservative senators called Garland's actions a threat to free speech and question the NSBA's claim that the rise in violence is a reaction to debates over masks and the teaching of critical race theory.
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