The Department of Justice has released a report detailing the Biden Administration’s controversial use of federal law enforcement to investigate parents who were critical of local school officials. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, a conservative stalwart, was interviewed by the Wall Street Journal. We highlight important cases from the Supreme Court’s new term. And the support for John Eastman, who is taking his disbarment fight to the Supreme Court, now includes law professors who are experts on the First Amendment.
Concerned parents targeted by the Biden Administration
This week, the Department of Justice released its 2026 Report to Expose the Weaponization of Government Against Parents in Schools – a sobering read for anyone concerned about parental rights, the right to speak freely, and Government collusion with political allies to stifle dissent.
Back in September 2021, the National School Board Association (NSBA) demanded the Biden Administration turn its full attention to “acts of malice, violence, and threats against public school officials” which it likened “to a form of domestic terrorism and hate crimes.” While the threats and violence public school officials faced was rare, the letter indicated that the NSBA was more concerned about parents who were critical of radical educational policies, such as transgender athletics and COVID-19 policies.
The Biden Administration happily agreed to do what the NSBA asked, and then-Attorney General Merrick Garland issued a memorandum that promised action and coordination with local law enforcement. Inside the federal government, however, there were significant criticisms and disagreements about the government’s role in local matters and how the NSBA was demanding the prosecution of protected First Amendment activities.
For example, leadership within the DOJ’s Criminal Division said the Biden Administration’s plan “would be horrible” and that “they might as well rename the damn thing the Anti-MAGA Task Force.”
And attorneys within the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division expressed concern that the NSBA letter sought punishment for statements that are “protected by the First Amendment.”
Despite the internal pushback, the Biden Administration proceeded to investigate parents. Some of these investigations were even run out of the FBI’s Counterterrorism Division. According to one whistleblower, the “FBI investigated a mother because she belonged to a right-wing mom’s group and is a gun owner.” The FBI also investigated a father “because he railed against the government.” Fortunately for the parents who dared speak up, these investigations did not result in any prosecutions.
The interview of Justice Samuel Alito
This week, Justice Samuel Alito was interviewed by the Wall Street Journal, where he touched upon originalism, religious liberty, and the overturning of Roe v. Wade (among other issues). Below is the video of that interview. Here is the transcript.
Key highlights of Justice Alito’s interview include:
A new moral code has emerged in America, and the clash of morals “is creating religious liberty issues.”
Justice Alito believes “that there are those who are attempting to influence the court's decision through verbal intimidation. And I think that if they cannot achieve that, they would prefer to discredit the court as an institution and perhaps sap its power rather than have it continue to decide cases in the way that it has been deciding those cases in recent years.”
Two months passed between the date the Dobbs opinion (which overturned Roe v. Wade) was leaked and when the official opinion was released. Justice Alito, who authored Dobbs, stated “what held up the ultimate release of the decision was the time that was taken up by the preparation of the dissent.”
The Supreme Court’s New Term
A new term just started for the Supreme Court. Here is a rundown of some of the most important cases the Court will hear:
St. Mary Catholic Parish v. Roy: At issue is Colorado’s mistreatment of Catholic preschools and its exclusion of those schools from the State’s universal preschool program. Oral argument is on November 3, 2026.
Viramontes v. Cook County: This case concerns whether the Second and Fourteenth Amendments guarantee the right to own semiautomatic rifles like the AR-15 platform. Cook County, Illinois criminalizes the “sale, transfer, or possession of any assault weapon.” Oral argument is scheduled for December 2, 2026.
Republican National Committee v. Mi Familia Vota: In this case, the Supreme Court will decide if Arizona can require “voter registration applicants to produce satisfactory evidence of U.S. citizenship when registering” to vote. Argument is on December 8, 2026.
In other news:
The Ninth Circuit has paused a district court’s ruling that ordered the Trump Administration to reinstate Roger Rogoff, a court-appointed U.S. Attorney in the Western District of Washington. For the Trump Administration, this case involves a basic fight over executive power vested to the President under Article II of the Constitution.
Three law professors - all experts on the First Amendment and advocates for free speech - have filed an amicus brief asking the Supreme Court to review the case of John Eastman and “consider when lawyers can be disbarred for their public political speech.” For these law professors, Eastman’s public statements were “core political speech” that “must remain constitutionally protected.”
