For educators under assault, federal involvement is welcome — but it’s not enough

It’s a very good thing that the FBI has answered the plea for help. In a memorandum in response to the National School Boards Association’s letter, Attorney General Merrick Garland directed the bureau to develop strategies for dealing with the “disturbing spike in harassment, intimidation, and threats of violence.” That, in turn, prompted Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) to fulminate that Garland’s “dangerous” directive amounted to a McCarthyist effort to silence concerned parents.