Heat on WH for protest policy

White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki was pressed Wednesday to explain why the Biden administration has primed the FBI to go after parents protesting at local school-board meetings, after she shrugged off the public harassment of Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) over the weekend.

When asked if President Biden supports the fundamental right of parents to protest at schoolboard meetings, Psaki said, “Of course, but he doesn’t stand for the fundamental right — I assume you don’t, either — for people to take violent action against members of — public servants. And that’s what the threats are about. And so, no, he doesn’t stand for that. No one should.”

On Tuesday, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced the FBI would lead the response to what he called “a disturbing spike in harassment, intimidation and threats of violence” against school personnel.

On Monday, when asked about pro-immigration protesters disrupting a class at Arizona State University where Sinema was lecturing, and then chasing her into a bathroom stall, Biden said, “I don’t think they’re appropriate tactics but it happens to everybody. The only people it doesn’t happen to are people who have Secret Service standing around. So it’s part of the process.”

On the same day, Psaki said the administration “stands for the fundamental right of people to protest, to object, to criticize, as they often do outside of the gates of the White House,” but declined to specifically condemn the activists who hounded Sinema into the bathroom.