A top Trump administration official revealed Monday that the Justice Department was investigating a report that a Turning Point USA chapter in Maryland was referred to child protective services by a “left-wing” community member.
“I’m looking into this,” Harmeet Dhillon, the DOJ’s assistant attorney general for civil rights, wrote on X, in response to video from a Calvert County, Maryland, school board meeting where a woman declares that she reported a local chapter of the conservative activist group founded by the late Charlie Kirk to child protective services.
The woman, who identified herself as Nancy Krause, claimed parents were not permitted at the Northern High School TPUSA chapter meetings and expressed concerns with school board members allegedly speaking to the club.
“Students are widely recognized as a vulnerable population in critical, developmental stages and especially susceptible to influence,” Krause argued during the meeting. “All board of education members in this room are mandated reporters under state law, as I am.
“Based on the circumstances surrounding this event, a report was made to child protective services.”
Educational Freedom Institute President Corey A. DeAngelis described Krause as a “left-wing Karen” in a social media post with a clip from the school board meeting that Dhillon later responded to.
“These lunatics want to take your kids away if you’re conservative,” DeAngelis fumed.
Luke Grover, the president of the Northern High School TPUSA chapter, spoke at the same Calvert County school board meeting where Krause registered her complaints, according to ABC 7 News.
“We’re not up for any problems, we’re not causing any harm,” Grover pleaded.
“We’re not doing anything wrong, our first meeting was in November, and we wrote letters for veterans and had productive discussions about how we can support our veteran community,” he added.
Grover, 17, decried the “misinformation” that has been “spread about our group,” including accusations that the high school club is “grooming children,” which he vehemently denied.
The student leader also explained that because of online hate directed at his group, the club banned “any adults that we did not know” from attending meetings.
However, Grover noted that parents and adult volunteers known to club members were allowed at meetings.
Grover is an intern for Maryland GOP Del. Mark Fisher, who said he was proud of the conservative high school group.
“I’m so proud of these students and high school because they do know the Constitution, they do know their rights, and they do want to express themselves freely,” Fisher told ABC 7 News. “Shame on these adults for attacking minors.”
