dr. Simone Gold, a prominent anti-vaccine medic who founded a group infamous for spreading disinformation about COVID-19, pleaded guilty Thursday to joining the insurgents who violently attacked the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Gold is the founder of America’s Frontline Doctors (AFLDS) and has spent the pandemic downplaying COVID-19, promoting unproven treatments, such as hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin, and casting doubt on the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines.
According to her admission of guilt, Gold entered a restricted area around the Capitol on Jan. 6 and joined some of the crowd outside the door of the East Rotunda. There, she stood before a law enforcement officer as the officer was assaulted and dragged to the ground, the plea says. Soon after, she entered the Rotunda with rioters and began speaking against COVID-19 vaccine mandates and government-imposed lockdowns, while co-defendant John Strand captured her comments on video. Multiple law enforcement officers had to intervene before Gold stopped her speech, after which she and Strand left the area.
In an interview published days later in The Washington Post on Jan. 12, Gold said she regretted going to the Capitol because it could distract from her “advocacy” work, but that “it was emphatically not a riot.” ‘. She denied seeing any violence. “Where I was was incredibly peaceful,” she told the Post.
The act she has pleaded guilty to is a misdemeanor, with a maximum sentence of six months. Her sentencing is set for June 16. Meanwhile, Strand, the communications director of AFLDS, has pleaded not guilty to charges against him, according to the Associated Press. His trial begins on July 18.
Demons and Misinformation
The AFLDS is one of the most prominent groups spreading the misinformation about COVID-19 during the pandemic. A September 2021 report from Intercept revealed data that AFLDS and partner organization SpeakWithAnMD.com have made at least $6.7 million by offering online COVID-19 consultations writing off-label prescriptions for ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine and other unproven treatments. are prescribed.
A month after that report, Rep. James Clyburn, a South Carolina Democrat and chairman of the House Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis, is investigating AFLDS. In a letter Clyburn sent directly to Gold, he wrote:
I am very concerned that AFLDS is profiting from the deliberate spread of misinformation about the coronavirus. AFLDS’ promotion of falsehoods about the coronavirus, questionable treatments and vaccines is dangerous and potentially endangering American lives and countering our country’s efforts to end the pandemic.
Gold has used her medical records to bolster her pandemic lies and misinformation. She did tell the Post last year that she no longer worked as a doctor. She said she was “immediately fired” from jobs as an emergency room physician for two hospitals after participating in a July 2020 event in which she and other AFLDS doctors spread misinformation about COVID-19. The event made headlines for the inclusion of Stella Immanuel, who has a history of blaming disease on demons. The event was organized with the support of the Tea Party Patriots group and was streamed live by conservative media outlet Breitbart, the Post reported.
