Moms Protest Over Letter Calling Parents at School Board Meetings ‘Domestic Terrorists’
Kimiko Kimura
Posted On September 3, 2023
A group of mothers protested outside the headquarters of the National School Boards Association in Alexandria, Virginia on Wednesday. The mothers, part of the organization Moms for America, were expressing anger over a letter the NSBA sent last month to President Biden. In the letter, the NSBA compared some parental behavior at recent school board meetings to domestic terrorism and requested the FBI investigate parents in certain school districts.
Moms for America President Kimberly Fletcher accused the NSBA of mischaracterizing many of the incidents cited in their letter. She pointed to one example in Illinois that she personally witnessed where a parent was arrested simply for not wearing a mask, not for violence or threats.
After mounting criticism nationwide, the NSBA apologized over the weekend. However, the protesting mothers said an apology is not sufficient. They argue parents should have a voice in their children’s education, not be labeled as “domestic terrorists” for speaking out at school board meetings.
One protestor, Patti Menders, stated, “We parents are not domestic terrorists. We parents need to be part of our children’s education. We parents want school boards to stop dividing our children and using them as pawns to pass their political ideology by race and gender.”
Scott Smith, a father from Loudoun County, Virginia whose daughter was assaulted in a school bathroom, was arrested at a school board meeting in June after a heated exchange. Smith came to the meeting seeking answers about his daughter’s attack. Now he is demanding an apology from the NSBA for referencing him in their letter.
The NSBA has not yet responded to requests for comment on the protest.
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