The Federal Bureau Investigation claimed in a statement posted to Twitter they do not have agents assigned to investigating parents at school board meeting, but users on the site added a Community Note to the post showing the statement from the FBI is not accurate.
"The FBI is not and never has been in the business of policing or investigating speech by parents at school board meeting...when there's threats of violence — we're going to work with our state and local partners as we always have," the FBI's statement says.
In the link provided, the FBI further stated:
- The suggestion that the FBI’s creation of a threat tag somehow means we’re targeting or using counterterrorism tools to go after parents for exercising their First Amendment rights is completely inaccurate.
- Threat tags are statistical tools to track information for review and reporting. The mere existence of a threat tag does not change the long-standing predication requirements for opening an investigation.
The fact-checking note under the post reads: "The FBI’s statement is misleading. On May 18, 2023, former FBI agent Steve Friend testified before the House Judiciary Committee that he and others were directed to surveil and document parents attending school board meetings."
In reference to the false assertions about investigating parents at school board meetings, #FBI Director Wray told the House Judiciary Committee that the Bureau is not in the business of policing speech. Read more here: https://t.co/dZSUPgpAwS pic.twitter.com/7jebphhgIb
— FBI (@FBI) July 12, 2023
Thank you @elonmusk for adding community notes https://t.co/oCLPNXUxbl
— Steve Friend (@RealStevefriend) July 13, 2023