SPLC met with Biden national security officials before labeling parents' rights organizations 'hate groups'

The Southern Poverty Law Center's director of Intelligence Project, Susan Corke, met with the White House in Jan 2023, who recently added Moms for Liberty, Parents Defending Education, and other parent organizations to its "hate map." 

According to the White House visitor logs, Corke met with National Security Council counterterrorism director John Picarelli, the Free Beacon reports. The "hate group" designation puts parent organizations in the same boat as neo-Nazis and the Ku Klux Klan. 

"What’s the name of a govt that colludes with private entities & powerful non-profit org to intimidate, threaten & bully citizens with the purpose of silencing political dissent?" Moms for Liberty co-founder Tina Descovich asked on Twitter. 

Ohio Senator J.D. Vance said of the report, "The SPLC is a garbage organization now dedicated to harassing groups that advocate for parents. In the future, their pronouncements must be met with scorn."

"​​The SPLC is a hateful, bigoted, and despicable organization," Texas Senator Ted Cruz said of the group. "They're now attacking and labeling parents who want to have a say in their own kids' education."

Members of Moms for Liberty can often be seen with signs and shirts with messages like "We don't co-parent with the government" written or printed on them. According to their website, their mission is "fighting for the survival of America by unifying, educating and empowering parents to defend their parental rights at all levels of government.

The "hate" designation comes as parents of all backgrounds are protesting the actions of their public schools across the country. In recent days, brawls have broken out between Armenian-American parents and Antifa members in Glendale, California, while Muslim parents in Montgomery County Maryland protested to be able to opt their kids out of LGBTQ teachings at school. 

This is not the first time that the Biden administration has shown contempt for parents' organizations that stand up for their rights. In 2021, Attorney General Merrick Garland launched a task force to investigate parents who spoke at school board meetings as potential domestic terrorists. 

In April, President Biden drew backlash after he claimed that "there's no such thing as someone else's child." He continued, "Our nation's children are all our children."