In response to questioning from Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Missouri, Garland denounced a memo from the FBI’s Richmond division, which detailed a strategy to investigate a link between “radical-traditionalist Catholic ideology” and “the far-right white nationalist movement.”
The now-retracted memo discussed investigating Catholic parishes that offer the Traditional Latin Mass and certain Catholic online communities. The document cited a list from the Southern Poverty Law Center to determine which organizations adhere to “radical-traditionalist Catholic ideology.”
Hawley asked Garland whether the Department of Justice is “cultivating sources and spies in Latin Mass parishes and other Catholic parishes around the country.”
“The Justice Department does not do that,” Garland said. “It does not do investigations based on religion. I saw the document you have. It’s appalling. It’s appalling. I’m in complete agreement with you. I understand that the FBI has withdrawn it and it’s now looking into how this could ever have happened.”
Hawley pressed the issue further, asking Garland how many informants the FBI has in Catholic churches.
“I don’t know and I don’t believe we have any informants aimed at Catholic churches,” Garland responded. “We have a rule against investigations based on First Amendment activity and Catholic churches are obviously First Amendment activity. But I don’t know the specific answer to that question.”