U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), left, and American Principles Project President Terry Schilling | Senate.Gov / AmericanPrinciplesProject.org
U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), left, and American Principles Project President Terry Schilling | Senate.Gov / AmericanPrinciplesProject.org
U.S. Senator J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) criticized the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) after the group released its “Year In Hate and Extremism 2022” report.
"The SPLC is a garbage organization now dedicated to harassing groups that advocate for parents," tweeted Vance. "In the future, their pronouncements must be met with scorn."
The SPLC says its report includes “1225 hate and anti-government groups across the U.S.,” including 55 in Ohio.
Included in the report are groups such as Moms for Liberty, which has chapters in nine Ohio counties. The group's website says its mission is "fighting for the survival of America by unifying, educating and empowering parents to defend their parental rights at all levels of government."
Deseret News reported that Moms for Liberty co-founder Tiffany Justice said of the SPLC report, "If this is what makes you an extremist — standing up for freedom and liberty and fighting for your children to get a good education and asking questions when the institutions of our government like our public schools are failing to meet the needs of the people. ... I mean, is that really what extremism is in America today?”
Terry Schilling, president of the American Principles Project, said that “Moms for Liberty has been targeted not because they are 'extreme' but because they are effective," reported Old Dominion News.
The Washington Free Beacon reported on June 7, 2023 that White House records show the author of the report, Susan Corke, director of the SPLC's Intelligence Project, met with members of the Biden Administration on January 6 of this year.
"While it is unclear what Corke discussed in the White House visit, the meeting was held amid growing pressure on the Biden administration to track parents upset by schools' coronavirus policies and left-wing classroom curricula," reported the Free Beacon. "Moms for Liberty and Parents Defending Education have emerged as the leading grassroots groups in the movement against mask mandates at schools and curricula that promote critical race theory and transgender issues."
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