In an article titled "Attorney General Never Called Concerned Parents ‘Domestic Terrorists’", FactCheck.org and Robert Farley, claim no such thing was ever said.
They open with the Attorney General's statements to the accusation:
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said that he couldn’t even “imagine a circumstance” where “parents complaining” at a school board meeting would be “labeled as domestic terrorism.” Yet, several Republicans have continued to falsely claim Garland called such parents “terrorists.”
Further they acknowledge where the label originated:
National School Boards Association to Garland last fall argued some violent threats against school officials “could be the equivalent to a form of domestic terrorism” that would warrant the intervention of federal law enforcement.
Whereas the Attorney General did not call parents "domestic terrorist", the NSBA did in not so many words. However, nobody has asserted or made the claim that the memo contained this language.
FactCheck.org accurately mentions a letter from Rep. Jim Jordan to Garland inquiring about counterterrorism tools being used against parents, which then use to affirm their opinion that this claim is false.
However this is misleading. What they failed to mention is the 14 states lawsuit that has been filed in federal court against the Biden Administration, Garland, and several others for violations of the Freedom of Information Act ("FOIA") which alleges a violation of FOIA, 5 U.S.C. § 552.
The petition claims information regarding the label "domestic terrorist" is being withheld as documents they have collectively requested have not been handed over per the law.
The plaintiff's in the case include 14 states: STATE OF INDIANA, STATE OF ARIZONA, STATE OF ARKANSAS, STATE OF GEORGIA, STATE OF KANSAS, COMMONWEALTH OF KENTUCKY, STATE OF LOUISIANA, STATE OF MISSOURI, STATE OF MONTANA, STATE OF OHIO, STATE OF OKLAHOMA, STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA, STATE OF TEXAS, STATE OF UTAH.
The defendants in the petition are: PRESIDENT JOSEPH R. BIDEN, JR., THE EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, ATTORNEY GENERAL MERRICK B. GARLAND, THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, SECRETARY OF EDUCATION MIGUEL A. CARDONA, and THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION.
While FactCheck.org does accurately articulate the information they present, they completely omit a significant allegation regarding the label that thus far, appears to be a violation of federal regulation by the defendants.
Given the foregoing, there is a lack sufficient evidence either way and as such, FactCheck.org's fact check is misleading and requires more information that simply is not available.
Summary
FactCheck.org claims the Attorney General never called parents "Domestic Terrorists", however they leave out a significant 14 states lawsuit against the AG, Biden, and other federal agencies for violated the FOIA in refusing to deliver documents regarding the "domestic terrorist" label, and as such, this fact check is misleading. There simply is not enough information to accurately make the claim made.
Claim: "Attorney General Never Called Parents ‘Domestic Terrorists"
Fact Check Verdict: MISLEADING
Claimant: FactCheck.org
