On Oct. 4, Attorney General Merrick Garland launched an investigation into violence against educators, declaring that there has been a “disturbing spike” in threats of violence against school administrators, board members, teachers, and staff in recent months. According to information revealed on Oct. 21 during a House Committee on the Judiciary oversight hearing, Garland’s assertion of a “disturbing spike” was based not on law enforcement intelligence or academic studies, but by a letter the National School Boards Association (NSBA) had sent to the Biden administration days earlier. The letter—which characterizes protesting parents as domestic terrorism threats and calls for the FBI to use statutes such as the PATRIOT Act—has since received significant backlash from the public as well as NSBA board members. Garland’s statements about the issue came in response to questions from Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) about when he first noticed the “disturbing spike” in threats of violence against …