Rep. Hank Johnson says ‘MAGA extremists’ are ‘demonizing’ school boards

Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA) alleged “MAGA Republicans” descended on school board meetings in a similar manner that resembled the January 6 Capitol riots when speaking during a committee hearing.

“Today, what we are seeing on this committee is an attempt by my friends on the other side of the aisle to continue demonizing school boards, local school boards, local school board members, school administrators, parents and teachers,” Johnson said Wednesday at House Committee on the Judiciary meeting, per Fox News.

He added, “These school board meetings have become a place where MAGA extremists go to disrupt based on false and deceptive information imparted to them by the former president and his MAGA extremist followers, deception about what’s being taught to our children.”

“It’s really a travesty that we come today in Congress just a couple of months before a very important election that my MAGA supports on the other side of the aisle are intent on winning so they can take control of this body and then they will have the ability to harass and try to intimidate the administration with their oversight powers,” Johnson said, before going on to compare the events to January 6 specifically.

“January 6, 2021 will never be forgotten. An infamous day in American history. MAGA Republicans descended upon the capitol, engaged in an insurrection, they occupied the capitol. People at the local level at affected school board meetings, they won’t forget the MAGA Republicans descending on their school board meetings after January 6,” Johnson said.

On Wednesday, the House Committee of the Judiciary convened to discuss a controversial House Resolution which asked President Biden to “provide certain documents to the House of Representatives relating to the October 4, 2021 memorandum issued by the Attorney General entitled Partnership Among Federal, State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial Law Enforcement to Address Threats Against School Administrators, Board Members, Teachers, and Staff.”

As Fox News reported, Johnson denied any link between the federal government and the NSBA as he hit out at parents protesting against school board members.

“And in response to that, the National School Boards Association sent a letter to the Biden Administration seeking federal help. Things had gotten so far out of hand. And by the way, there is not one scintilla of evidence, either direct or indirect, that there was any coordination between the Biden Administration and the National School Boards Association that caused that letter to be sent seeking federal assistance,” Johnson said.

Johnson did acknowledge later on that the memo was “indicating that there was going to be some coordination between the federal government and local governments to maintain order at school board meetings.”