U.S.

Department of Justice
Federal Bureau of Investigation

Office of Congressional Affairs

Office of the Assistant Director 935 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

Washington, DC 20535-0001

January 28, 2022

The Honorable Jim Jordan

Ranking Member
Committee on the Judiciary
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515

Dear Ranking Member Jordan:

This responds to your letters, dated November 3, 2021, November 18, 2021, and
November 24, 2021, to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), regarding a memorandum
issued by the Attorney General on October 4, 2021, titled, “Partnership Among Federal, State,
Local, Tribal, and Territorial Law Enforcement To Address Threats Against School
Administrators, Board Members, Teachers, and Staff” (Attorney General’s Memorandum).
Similar responses are being sent to the co-signers of your letters.

The FBI’s mission is to protect the American people and uphold the Constitution of the
United States. The FBI is fully committed to preserving and protecting First Amendment rights,
including freedom of speech. The Attorney General’s Memorandum underscores the FBI’s
ongoing efforts to assist state, local, and federal partners to address violence and threats of
violence, regardless of the motivation. The FBI is not in the business of policing speech at
school board meetings. Rather, the FBI’s focus is on violence and threats of violence. To open
an FBI investigation, there must be information indicating potential violence or use of force and
a potential violation of federal law. The FBI will continue to work alongside our law
enforcement partners to keep our communities safe. Finally, we are not in a position to provide
internal documents or communications between the Department of Justice and the FBI.

Thank you for supporting the FBI, our mission, and our people.

Sincerely,

Jill C. Tyson
Assistant Director