Florida Republicans probe whether Biden admin is using Southern Poverty Law Center to target parents

Florida congressional Republicans are demanding that the Biden administration answers whether it partnered with the Southern Poverty Law Center to label Moms for Liberty and other parental rights groups as "extremists."

The designation comes after National Security Council counterterrorism director John Picarelli met with SPLC Intelligence Project Director Susan Corke earlier this year, the Florida Republicans, led by Sen. Marco Rubio, wrote in a letter Wednesday to President Biden. 

"This meeting raises serious questions as to whether the White House encouraged SPLC to work on behalf of the administration to label parental rights groups and organizations as 'extremist groups,'" the lawmakers wrote. 

For years, the Biden administration has been targeting parents scrutinizing their children's education, per whistleblowers.

Moms for Liberty, a Florida-based group, is described by the SPLC in its latest review of hate groups as being at the forefront of the parental rights movement. 

"Moms for Liberty activities make it clear that the group’s primary goals are to fuel right-wing hysteria and to make the world a less comfortable or safe place for certain students – primarily those who are Black, LGBTQ or who come from LGBTQ families," the SPLC stated in its review earlier this month.

In their letter to Biden, the Florida Republicans wrote: "SPLC’s bad-faith designation of Moms for Liberty, as well as other parental rights groups, should come as no surprise, as SPLC is a corrupt and vicious tool of progressive radicals seeking to label individuals and groups with whom they disagree as hateful and/or extremist."

Sen. Rick Scott and Reps. Bill Posey, Neal Dunn, Scott Franklin, Daniel Webster, Aaron Bean, Greg Steube, Anna Paulina Luna, Kat Cammack, Gus Bilirakis and Byron Donalds joined Rubio in the letter.

Florida has been leading the nationwide charge to implement legislation protecting parental rights in their children's classrooms.

Madeleine Hubbard is an international correspondent for Just the News. Follow her on Twitter or Instagram.