Dispute Arises Over Biden-Era Memo on Covid and Schools

The Justice Department released a report on October 5, 2026, indicating that career officials within the agency disagreed with a 2021 memo from the Biden administration regarding alleged threats to school officials. The memo was criticized for being politically charged and was described by some officials as misguided. The report concluded that the memo was influenced by political pressure from outside groups and White House officials, aiming to use the Justice Department to suppress the constitutional rights of parents. The memo was issued in response to a letter from the National School Boards Association, which raised concerns about the safety of school administrators and described some threats as potentially equivalent to domestic terrorism. The report highlighted that several senior officials, including George Toscas and Corey Amundson, opposed the memo and were subsequently removed from their positions during the Trump administration. Their objections included concerns that the memo conflated free speech with terrorist threats. Additionally, Steven Jensen, a senior counterterrorism official at the FBI, warned against labeling general opposition to school board actions as domestic terrorism. Jensen was later fired in 2025 after disagreements regarding the treatment of FBI agents involved in the January 6 Capitol riot and has since filed a lawsuit regarding his termination.