America's Frontline Doctors

America's Frontline Doctors is an American right-wing political organization. Founded by Simone Gold and promoted by the Tea Party Patriots, It has opposed lockdowns and social distancing mandates during the COVID-19 pandemic by citing alleged and unapproved treatments for COVID-19.

America's Frontline Doctors
Formation2019
LeaderSimone Gold
Websitehttps://www.americasfrontlinedoctors.com/
This article is part of a series on
Conservatism in
the United States
Schools
Principles
History
People
Parties
Think tanks
Other organizations
Media
Variants and movements
See also
 Conservatism portal

In January 2021, Gold and the group's communications director John Strand were both arrested in connection with the January 6 storming of the United States Capitol.

History
Simone Gold, the group's founder, speaking at Turning Point USA's 2020 Student Action Summit

On July 27, 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Tea Party Patriots hosted and funded a press conference in Washington, D.C., in front of the Supreme Court Building by a group founded by Simone Gold which referred to themselves as "America's Frontline Doctors". Without peer-reviewed evidence or formal approval from health bodies, the group claimed that a cocktail of hydroxychloroquine, Zithromax, and zinc could be used as a "cure" for COVID-19, and that public health measures (such as lockdowns and mandating face masks in public spaces) were therefore unnecessary. One of the speakers, Stella Immanuel, said she herself had treated and cured 350 COVID-19 patients using the aforementioned cocktail, and referred to doctors refusing to use hydroxychloroquine as being like the "good Germans who allow the Nazis to kill the Jews".[1][2][3] They also accused "fake pharma companies" of sponsoring studies that found hydroxychloroquine to be ineffective against COVID-19.[4]

The event was live streamed by the far-right website Breitbart News, and video of the event was shared on social media platforms such as Facebook groups (including those dedicated to anti-vaccination and conspiracy movements) and on Twitter — where then President Donald Trump (who also promoted the drugs) and his son Donald Trump Jr. both shared versions of the video.[2][3][4] Citing policies against COVID-19 misinformation, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube began to delete posts of the video. It was estimated that posts of the video on Facebook had reached over 14 million views before the takedown.[4][2] Twitter restricted the account of Trump Jr. for 12 hours after he uploaded a version of the video to his account.[5]

When asked about the video, Trump referred to the group as being "very respected doctors", and referred to Immanuel as "spectacular". When asked why he trusted Immanuel despite her history of promoting conspiracies (such as alien DNA being used as part of medical treatments),[6] Trump replied, "I thought she was very impressive, in the sense that, from where she came — I don't know what country she comes from — but she said that she's had tremendous success with hundreds of different patients."[7]

Following the event, Gold was fired from her position as an emergency room physician at two hospitals.[8]

Participation in 2021 assault on the U.S. Capitol

On January 6, 2021, founder Simone Gold participated in the storming of the U.S. Capitol to protest the certification of President Joe Biden's electoral victory. She faced charges of entering a restricted building or grounds, violent entry and disorderly conduct.[6] Gold claimed she followed a crowd into the Capitol without realizing it was illegal entry. Gold claimed she did not witness any violence. Gold told reporters that she was concerned that photos of her inside the Capitol would distract from her health advocacy work and said "I do regret being there" but described the event as "not a riot" and "incredibly peaceful."[8][9]

John Strand, the group's communications director, was also arrested on federal charges relating to the protest.[9]

References
  1. "Don't fall for this video: Hydroxychloroquine is not a COVID-19 cure". PolitiFact. July 28, 2020. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  2. Frenkel, Sheera; Alba, Davey (July 28, 2020). "Misleading Virus Video, Pushed by the Trumps, Spreads Online". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  3. Goodman, Christopher Giles, Shayan Sardarizadeh and Jack (July 28, 2020). "Why a video promoted by Trump was pulled on social media". BBC News. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  4. Passantino, Jon; Darcy, Oliver. "Social media giants remove viral video with false coronavirus claims that Trump retweeted". CNN. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  5. O'Sullivan, Donie. "Twitter temporarily restricts Donald Trump Jr.'s account after he posts video claiming masks are unnecessary". CNN. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  6. BUDRYK, ZACK (21 January 2021). "Doctor that promoted false hydroxychloroquine claims arrested in connection with Capitol riot". thehill.com. The Hill. Archived from the original on 22 January 2021. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
  7. Andrews, Travis M.; Paquette, Danielle (July 28, 2020). "Trump retweeted a video with false covid-19 claims. One doctor in it has said demons cause illnesses". Washington Post. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
  8. Satija, Neena (12 January 2021). "'I do regret being there': Simone Gold, noted hydroxychloroquine advocate, was inside the Capitol during the riot". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2021-01-12.
  9. DAZIO, STEFANIE (19 January 2021). "Capitol photos, videos lead to California doctor's arrest". abcnews.go.com. ABC News. Archived from the original on 21 January 2021. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.