{"id":1971553,"date":"2023-07-13T03:10:01","date_gmt":"2023-07-13T07:10:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/government-takes-cues-from-leftist-splc-to-bully-opponents-like-moms-for-liberty\/"},"modified":"2023-07-13T03:14:10","modified_gmt":"2023-07-13T07:14:10","slug":"government-takes-cues-from-leftist-splc-to-bully-opponents-like-moms-for-liberty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/government-takes-cues-from-leftist-splc-to-bully-opponents-like-moms-for-liberty\/","title":{"rendered":"Government bullies opponents using SPLC&#8217;s leftist cues."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">14<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fgovernment-takes-cues-from-leftist-splc-to-bully-opponents-like-moms-for-liberty%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1971553&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div class=\"article-content\">\n<p>The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) recently added two grassroots groups, Moms for Liberty and Parents Defending Education, to its \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.splcenter.org\/hate-map\">hate map<\/a>,\u201d labeling them \u201cantigovernment\u201d for daring to disagree with the SPLC\u2019s political beliefs.<\/p>\n<p>In their Wall Street Journal <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/splc-puts-moms-on-its-hate-map-education-extremist-parents-school-boards-16292dad\">op-ed<\/a> condemning their inclusion on the list, Moms for Liberty founders Tiffany Justice\u00a0and\u00a0Tina Descovich say they were targeted because SPLC wants them to \u201csit down and shut up.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2-long d-flex justify-content-center\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-569952049\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1379703300879-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-e08d097683f5c6963239dc1a5b713d51 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-e08d097683f5c6963239dc1a5b713d51\"><\/div>\n<p>They are right. Labels like \u201cantigovernment,\u201d \u201cradical,\u201d and \u201cdomestic extremist\u201d are increasingly weaponized against ideological adversaries. Instead of debating the merits of ideas, it is easier to tar and feather speakers. It\u2019s a cheap, lazy tactic designed to intimidate and silence disfavored groups to prevent them from exercising their First Amendment rights. Anyone who cares about free speech should ignore characterizations that make routine political disagreements seem \u201cdangerous\u201d and worthy of government attention.<\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately, the federal government is listening to voices that employ these speech-squashing tactics. According to the <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/biden-administration\/splc-researcher-who-labeled-moms-for-liberty-a-hate-group-met-biden-national-security-officials\/\">Washington Free Beacon<\/a><em>,<\/em> the SPLC researcher responsible for the \u201chate map\u201d met with Biden\u2019s National Security Council officials earlier this year.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019ve seen this move before: An organization targets Americans based on viewpoint, then high-ranking officials act in response to that organization\u2019s claims, thereby creating a negative feedback loop threatening First Amendment rights for everyone.<\/p>\n<p>It wasn\u2019t even a year ago that a Republican House Judiciary Committee\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/judiciary.house.gov\/sites\/evo-subsites\/judiciary.house.gov\/files\/evo-media-document\/hjc_staff_fbi_report.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">report<\/a>\u00a0detailed how the FBI Counterterrorism Division set up a special \u201cthreat tag\u201d to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/government-takes-cues-from-leftist-splc-to-bully-opponents-like-moms-for-liberty\/\" title=\"Government bullies opponents using SPLC's leftist cues.\">track school board-related cases shortly<\/a> after the National School Boards Association (NSBA) urged President Joe Biden to use the Patriot Act against American parents. The NSBA\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/nsjonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/2021-09-29-NSBA-Letter-to-President-Biden-Concerning-Threats-to-Public-Schools-and-School-Board-Members-92921.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">letter<\/a>\u00a0cited numerous instances of protected speech as examples of threats it wanted the Biden administration to address. These examples included things like parents expressing anger at school boards, and a man who referred to himself as \u201cthe vaccine police\u201d and called school administrators during a Facebook Live video.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-5acf13045523a1f3c15775c6e98d2419 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-6\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-5acf13045523a1f3c15775c6e98d2419\"><\/div>\n<p>The report points to the FBI opening an investigation into one mom for allegedly telling a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/nc-dem-senate-challenger-votes-against-bipartisan-school-reopening-bill\/\" title=\"NC Dem Senate Challenger Votes Against Bipartisan School Reopening Bill\">local school board<\/a>, \u201cWe are coming for you.\u201d The complaint alleged the mom was a threat because she belonged to a \u201cright-wing mom\u2019s [sic] group\u201d known as \u201cMoms for Liberty\u201d and that she is a \u201cgun owner.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>When an FBI agent interviewed the mom, she told the agent she was upset about the school board\u2019s mask mandates, and that her statement was a warning that her organization would seek to replace the school board by voting them out of office.\u00a0What horror!<\/p>\n<p>Government officials should be humiliated that they subject Americans to this kind of scrutiny for engaging in protected speech. But they must have painfully short memories.<\/p>\n<p>May marked a decade since the Internal Revenue Service\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2013\/05\/11\/us\/politics\/irs-apologizes-to-conservative-groups-over-application-audits.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">admitted<\/a>\u00a0to inappropriately targeting right<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/thought-the-private-takeover-of-government-election-offices-was-just-for-2020-think-again\/\" title=\"Thought The Private Takeover Of Government Election Offices Was Just For 2020?\u00a0Think Again\">-leaning nonprofit groups<\/a>, validating conservatives\u2019 fears of IRS political bias.\u00a0Lois Lerner, the director of the IRS division overseeing tax-exempt groups, \u201ccreated unprecedented roadblocks for Tea Party organizations, worked surreptitiously to advance new Obama administration regulations that curtail the activities of existing 501(c)(4) organizations \u2014 all the while attempting to maintain an appearance that her efforts did not appear, in her own words, \u2018per se political,\u2019\u201d according to a 2014\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/oversight.house.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Lerner-Report.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">report<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-397964bceb0168d979b3687305577bce fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-10\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-397964bceb0168d979b3687305577bce\"><\/div>\n<p>Unfortunately, in the 10 years since that scandal, little has changed to prevent government at all levels from identifying, targeting, and punishing those who engage in \u201cdisfavored\u201d political speech.\u00a0Instead, as it turns out, government abusing its power to chill the speech of ideological foes is more of a feature than a bug.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Whether the Lerner scandal or more recent headlines about improper conduct at the CIA and Department of Justice, or even the Durham report, we have seen example after example of political targeting of ideological opponents \u2014 and protection of ideological allies. This reprehensible phenomenon continues to\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/restoring-america\/https:\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/opinion\/the-irs-still-plays-political-speech-police\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">damage the political speech rights<\/a>\u00a0of a wide swath of Americans.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/aflegal.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/09040902\/2022-HQFO-00179-AFL.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">A recently revealed Department of Homeland Security memo<\/a>\u00a0uncovered by America First Legal profiled a \u201cmiddle-aged pro-life advocate\u201d and \u201cbudding conspiracy theorist\u201d as two examples of \u201cradicalization suspects\u201d worthy of intervention. While DHS\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2023\/05\/12\/dhs-had-pro-life-moms-as-radicalization-suspects-docs\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">claims<\/a> the document was provided by an outside contractor \u201cexploring options for a training product that was not further produced, approved, or used by DHS,\u201d civil liberties advocates are rightly on guard about the potential threat to protected First Amendment activity.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The federal government is not the only one in the speech-chilling business, either. School boards\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/reason.com\/volokh\/2022\/04\/25\/viewpoint-based-enforcement-of-no-advertising-policy-as-to-public-comments-likely-violates-first-amendment\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">across<\/a>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/media\/school-district-forced-pay-100k-banning-moms-exposing-pornographic-materials\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">the country<\/a>\u00a0routinely attempt to censor speech they dislike.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>A November 2021\u202f<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ifs.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/2021-11-05_M4L-v-BPS_Complaint.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">lawsuit<\/a>\u202fon behalf of a Florida Moms for Liberty chapter challenged the Brevard County School District\u2019s public participation policy and detailed how the board repeatedly violated their right to speak at public meetings.\u00a0Brevard Moms for Liberty is represented by the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ifs.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Institute for Free Speech<\/a>, a nonpartisan First Amendment advocacy organization.<\/p>\n<p>The board president regularly opened meetings by threatening attendees with criminal sanctions for disruption and has interrupted speakers for criticizing the board\u2019s policies as \u201cevil.\u201d When parents attempted to criticize the district\u2019s mask mandate, one board member showed frustration that the speech was even allowed: \u201cEnough is enough. We shouldn\u2019t be talking about [masks] anymore. \u2026 I personally believe we should not be allowing the spread of disinformation. So when we come to a public comment and we continue to make points that masks are not effective, my response will be, we shouldn\u2019t be talking about this anymore.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In February 2023, a federal judge granted Brevard\u2019s motion for summary judgment. In April, attorneys for Moms for Liberty\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ifs.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Moms-for-Liberty-v-Brevard-Public-Schools-Appellants-Brief-2.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">appealed<\/a>.\u00a0The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression and the Manhattan Institute have filed a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ifs.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Moms-for-Liberty-v-Brevard-Public-Schools-Amicus-Brief-of-FIRE-and-Manhattan-Institute-in-Support-of-Plaintiffs.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">joint amicus brief<\/a>\u00a0in support of Moms for Liberty,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ifs.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Moms-for-Liberty-v-Brevard-Public-Schools-Amicus-Brief-for-States-of-South-Carolina-Alaska-Arkansas-Idaho-Indiana-Kentucky-Louisiana-Mississippi-Montana-and-Texas-in-Support-of-Plaintiffs-1.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">along<\/a>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ifs.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Moms-for-Liberty-v-Brevard-Public-Schools-Amicus-Brief-of-Thomas-More-Society-in-Supporrt-of-Plaintiffs-1.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">with<\/a>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ifs.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Moms-for-Liberty-v-Brevard-Public-Schools-Amicus-Brief-of-Advancing-American-Freedom-Inc-et-al-in-Support-of-Plaintiff.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">other<\/a>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ifs.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Moms-for-Liberty-v-Brevard-Public-Schools-Amicus-Brief-of-Young-Americas-Foundation-in-Support-of-Plaintiffs.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">groups<\/a> and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ifs.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Moms-for-Liberty-v-Brevard-Public-Schools-Amicus-Brief-for-States-of-South-Carolina-Alaska-Arkansas-Idaho-Indiana-Kentucky-Louisiana-Mississippi-Montana-and-Texas-in-Support-of-Plaintiffs-1.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">10 states<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>This case, the SPLC \u201chate map,\u201d and the IRS targeting scandal of a decade ago highlight the potential for suppression of speech at all levels of government.<\/p>\n<p>After celebrating our nation\u2019s independence last week, we should remember that the First Amendment distinguishes this country from all others. It\u2019s part of what makes us a beacon of hope for the world. We must be vigilant against all attacks on the First Amendment and protect a culture of free speech for ourselves and generations to come.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-85d129defe832a58e521eeb2fcf57874 fdrlst__b89e9-after-post-content\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-85d129defe832a58e521eeb2fcf57874\"><\/div>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">    \t\t\t\t\t   \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The SPLC labeled grassroots groups Moms for Liberty and Parents Defending Education as &#8220;antigovernment&#8221; on their &#8220;hate map&#8221; for simply disagreeing with the SPLC&#8217;s political views. Founders Tiffany Justice and Tina Descovich expressed their condemnation of this inclusion in a Wall Street Journal op-ed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2199,"featured_media":1971554,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1971553","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1971553","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2199"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1971553"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1971553\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1971554"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1971553"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1971553"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1971553"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}