GEOFF BENNETT: Over the past few years, many Republican-led states have enacted new laws rolling back the teaching of race and LGBTQ rights in classrooms and banning books on those subjects.

And, in many cases, the push for these new restrictions is being driven by one group, Moms for Liberty, which is holding its annual convention in Philadelphia this week.

Laura Barron-Lopez reports on the group and its influence.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Geoff, Moms for Liberty was founded just two-and-a-half years ago in Florida.

Since then, it's expanded to 45 states and claims 120,000 members, and it has become one of the most influential groups for Republican candidates and voters in the 2024 race.

Several GOP candidates made their case today.

DONALD TRUMP, Former President of the United States: Moms for Liberty is no hate group.

You're joyful warriors.

You are fierce, fierce, very fierce.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) DONALD TRUMP: You're not the threat to America.

You're the best thing that's ever happened to America.

GOV.

RON DESANTIS (R-FL), Presidential Candidate: And my wife and I really believe that parents in this country should be able to send their kids to school, should be able to let them watch cartoons or just be kids without having some agenda shoved down their throat.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) NIKKI HALEY (R), Presidential Candidate: You have got biological boys playing in girls sports.

This is one of the biggest women's issues of our time.

How are we supposed to get our girls comfortable with biological boys in their locker room?

You can't.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: To help understand more about Moms for Liberty, I'm joined by David Gilbert.

He's a reporter at VICE News who covers the group.

David, thanks so much for joining.

You have done multiple investigations into this group, which has spread very fast in a short amount of time.

Who are they?

And are they as grassroots as they claim to be?

DAVID GILBERT, VICE News: So, Moms for Liberty was founded in late 2020 by a couple of former school board members who lost their seats and decided that they wanted to continue staying in this -- in this world, I guess.

And throughout 2021 and 2022, as you say, they had explosive growth.

And on the face, it seems like they're this grassroots movement of suburban moms and their only aim is to protect students and support public education.

But you very quickly realize when you start looking into them that what they actually are is this Astroturf movement backed by senior figures within the Republican Party and right-wing conservative groups, and they have been able to leverage those connections to give themselves this national platform almost instantaneously.

And, at the same time, they have used harassment tactics in order to get what they want at a local level by harassing teachers, students, superintendents, and school board members.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: I want to get to those tactics, because they started as -- saying as though -- as they were anti-vaccine, anti-mask.

That was their rallying cry.

And now they're responsible for a number of the book bans that -- across the country about race and gender identity.

And you looked at the tactics that these members have used against school board officials, against teachers, and especially also when they're talking to other parents and recruiting parents.

What did you find?

DAVID GILBERT: Firstly, their tactics were to go to school board meetings and shout the loudest and harass and attack school board members, and not just in school board meetings, but also outside meetings.

They attacked them online.

And, in several cases that I found, they were able to go to those people's houses and physically and verbally attack them at their -- where they lived.

From there, they moved on to using their bigger platform, I guess, in national media to recruit much more people.

As you say, their growth rate is astonishing, really.

They have 300 different chapters now across the country.

And, because of that, they have been able to recruit people to sit on school boards.

So, during the last election cycle, they were able to get their members or the candidates that they backed onto school boards, which means that they now are in power in certain cases.

And they are able to effect policy in those school districts.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: And you also, in your investigations, found that some of those Moms for Liberty chapters across the country have ties to extremist groups like the Proud Boys.

Tell me what you found there.

DAVID GILBERT: Yes, so, I suppose, with the explosive growth and the fact that the chapters are not well - - they have a major base in Florida.

They have grown across the country, really, in nearly every state now.

And one of the difficulties with that fast growth is controlling, I guess, the narrative.

And so what you see is, you see some chapter leaders who have maybe previously had their connections to extremist groups, such as the Proud Boys, such as the Oath Keepers, the 3 Percenters, they continue to use those connections.

And in one case in Florida, we saw a chapter leader of Moms for Liberty organizing in Telegram groups with Proud Boy members how they were going to coordinate and attack school board meetings.

And that's -- that wasn't just a one-off case.

We found this in Tennessee and in New York, where they have very close ties to these groups, and they are working basically in coordination with each other to achieve their goals.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: David, the group clearly has influence over the GOP field, particularly the GOP primary race.

What impact do you think they're going to have more broadly as 2020 -- as the 2024 race develops into the general election?

DAVID GILBERT: It's really hard to say, I guess, at this point.

But what we can say is that, if you look at this weekend, every viable candidate who's looking for the GOP nomination for 2024 is in Philadelphia.

At one point.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. the Democratic - - who's seeking the Democratic nomination, was also slated to speak, until he pulled out earlier this week.

So they clearly have some sort of power and pull, and I think what it comes down to is the fact that they are engaged.

They have - - their members are active.

They are not just sitting on Facebook and clicking.

Like, they're out there.

They're in school board meetings.

They're active in their community.

And that's exactly what Trump or DeSantis or Nikki Haley or whoever wins the GOP nomination wants when it comes to voting.

They will be able to rally these people.

There is a network there already that they can plug into and get people out to vote, which is key to winning the 2024 election, I guess.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: David Gilbert of VICE News, thank you so much for your time.

DAVID GILBERT: No problem.