But an FBI official told Just the News that “threat tags” are commonly used inside the bureau in recent years to help criminal and counterterrorism probes track trends and statistical evidence. “The creation of a threat tag in no way changes the long-standing requirements for opening an investigation, nor does it represent a shift in how the FBI prioritizes threats,” the official said.
The official also sought to distance the FBI from Garland’s original instructions to investigate parental threats and the school board association letter that suggested protesting parents might be domestic terrorists. The school board group has since rescinded the letter and apologized.
“The FBI has never been in the business of investigating parents who speak out or policing speech at school board meetings, and we are not going to start now,” the official said. “The FBI’s mission is to protect the American people and uphold the Constitution. These are dual and simultaneous and not one at the expense of the other.”
Current and former FBI officials said the email cited by Jordan appeared to be an aberration from normal FBI practices. Usually, they said, the FBI sends out such instructions in what is known in bureau parlance as an “electronic communication” and cites the case number of an investigation. But this instruction was sent out over normal email and even included a colorful logo header, which they said was not typical.